Broadcasting vehicle and insurance information to mobile devices in the vicinity of a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A system for transmitting and receiving vehicle, insurance, and financial information comprises a communication beacon, a vehicle control system, and a mobile electronic device. The communication beacon is associated with one of a plurality of vehicles and transmits information about the associated vehicle. The vehicle control system is associated with one of the vehicles, and configured to transmit information about the associated vehicle after a trigger event occurs. The mobile electronic device includes a communication element and a processing element that executes a software application configured to receive vehicle information from the communication beacon or the vehicle control system (both of which may be Bluetooth® enabled and/or include an accelerometer), transmit vehicle information to a computer server, receive term information regarding an insurance quote or auto loan, the term information determined by the server based upon the vehicle information, and display the term information on a screen to a customer.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The current patent application is a non-provisional patent applicationwhich claims priority benefit with regard to all common subject matterto U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/134,930, titled“BROADCASTING VEHICLE & INSURANCE INFORMATION TO MOBILE DEVICES IN THEVICINITY OF A VEHICLE”, filed Mar. 18, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/155,858, titled “BROADCASTING VEHICLE ANDINSURANCE INFORMATION TO MOBILE DEVICES IN THE VICINITY OF A VEHICLE”,filed May 1, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/169,607,titled “BROADCASTING VEHICLE AND INSURANCE INFORMATION TO MOBILE DEVICESIN THE VICINITY OF A VEHICLE”, filed Jun. 2, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/192,411, titled “BROADCASTING VEHICLE ANDINSURANCE INFORMATION TO MOBILE DEVICES IN THE VICINITY OF A VEHICLE”,filed Jul. 14, 2015; and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/253,784, titled “BROADCASTING VEHICLE AND INSURANCE INFORMATION TOMOBILE DEVICES IN THE VICINITY OF A VEHICLE”, filed Nov. 11, 2015. Thelisted earlier-filed provisionals applications are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entireties into the current patent application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods forbroadcasting and receiving vehicle, insurance, and financialinformation.

BACKGROUND

A customer considering buying a new or used vehicle typically visits oneor more dealerships or showrooms and browses the vehicles in stock.Afterward, the customer may contact multiple insurance carriers torequest a quote for automobile insurance. Or, the customer may browsethe web sites of the insurance carriers to request an automobileinsurance quote. Often, the customer has to type in the information,such as year, make, and model, for the vehicle of interest. This processcan be time-consuming, particularly if the customer is interested inmore than one vehicle. Alternatively, if the customer already holds apolicy with an insurance carrier, he may contact his agent to request aquote for a new policy or an estimate of the new premium payment. Thisprocess is still time-consuming and may require the agent orpolicyholder to calculate premium differentials.

The customer may also wish to finance the vehicle. The customer may gothrough a similar process as above—contacting banks and lendinginstitutions, each time supplying information about the vehicle. Thelack of immediate insurance or financing information forces the customerto potentially delay purchasing decisions that could be made at thedealership while looking at the vehicle.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present technology relate to systems andcomputer-implemented methods for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and financial information. The embodiments provide fortransmitting vehicle information from a communication beacon or avehicle control system. The vehicle information is received by a mobileelectronic device which may transmit the vehicle information to acomputer server. The computer server may determine an auto insurancerate, terms of a vehicle loan, or both. The term information may betransmitted back to the mobile device which displays the information ona screen to a customer. The customer may input either approval ormodification of the terms and the mobile electronic device transmits theinput to the computer server.

In a first aspect, a system for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and financial information may be provided. The system maycomprise at least one communication beacon, at least one vehicle controlsystem, and a mobile electronic device. The communication beacon may beassociated with one of a plurality of vehicles and transmits informationabout the associated vehicle. The vehicle control system may beassociated with one of a plurality of vehicles. The communication beaconand/or vehicle control system may be Bluetooth® enabled, may includevarious sensors to detect trigger events, and/or may be configured totransmit information about the associated vehicle after a trigger eventoccurs. The mobile electronic device may also be Bluetooth® enabled, andinclude one or more sensors configured to detect trigger events.Exemplary trigger events may be generated from and/or based upon (1) thevehicle's built in features (e.g., seat sensors, door sensors,accelerometers, GPS data, speed sensors, or motion sensors); (2) anexternal communication beacon placed or positioned within the vehicle(e.g., an iBeacon® with an accelerometer or other sensor(s)); (3) amobile device, such as a smart phone (i.e., GPS data that includes speedinformation and/or using the GPS data to determine that the vehicle ismoving or traveling above a minimum speed, such as 5 miles per hour);and/or other triggers, including those discussed elsewhere herein. Themobile electronic device may include a communication element, a memoryelement, and/or a processing element which executes a softwareapplication. The software application may be configured to receivevehicle information from the communication beacon and/or the vehiclecontrol system, transmit the vehicle information to a computer server,receive term information regarding an insurance quote or auto loan, theterm information determined by the computer server based upon thevehicle information, and/or display the term information on a screen(such as on a mobile device or a smart vehicle/vehicle control systemdisplay screen) to a customer to facilitate providing auto insurance ora vehicle loan to the customer and/or enhancing the online customerexperience. The system may include additional, less, or alternatefunctionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method for transmitting andreceiving vehicle, insurance, and financial information may be provided.The method may include: (1) transmitting information about a vehicle ona regular basis from a communication beacon and/or vehicle controlsystem; (2) detecting a trigger event occurring in a vehicle with thecommunication beacon and/or the vehicle control system (or a mobileelectronic device); (3) transmitting information about the vehicle fromthe communication beacon and/or the vehicle control system after thetrigger event occurs; (4) receiving vehicle information with the mobileelectronic device; (5) transmitting vehicle information from the mobileelectronic device to a computer server; (6) receiving insurance quote orauto loan information with the mobile electronic device from thecomputer server; and/or (7) displaying an insurance quote or auto loaninformation on the mobile electronic device (and/or vehicle controlsystem display) to a customer to facilitate providing auto insurance ora vehicle loan to the customer and/or enhancing the online customerexperience. The method may include additional, less, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

Advantages of these and other embodiments will become more apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following description of the exemplaryembodiments which have been shown and described by way of illustration.As will be realized, the present embodiments described herein may becapable of other and different embodiments, and their details arecapable of modification in various respects. Accordingly, the drawingsand description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not asrestrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The Figures described below depict various aspects of systems andmethods disclosed therein. It should be understood that each Figuredepicts an embodiment of a particular aspect of the disclosed system andmethods, and that each of the Figures is intended to accord with apossible embodiment thereof. Further, wherever possible, the followingdescription refers to the reference numerals included in the followingFigures, in which features depicted in multiple Figures are designatedwith consistent reference numerals. The present embodiments are notlimited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in theFigures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment in which embodiments of asystem may be utilized for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and/or financial information;

FIG. 2 illustrates various components of the exemplary system shown inblock schematic form;

FIG. 3 illustrates various components of an exemplary communicationbeacon shown in block schematic form;

FIG. 4 illustrates various components of an exemplary vehicle controlsystem shown in block schematic form;

FIG. 5 illustrates various components of an exemplary mobile electronicdevice shown in block schematic form;

FIG. 6 illustrates at least a portion of the steps of a first exemplarycomputer-implemented method for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and/or financial information;

FIG. 7 illustrates at least a portion of the steps of a second exemplarycomputer-implemented method for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and/or financial information;

FIG. 8 illustrates at least a portion of the steps of a third exemplarycomputer-implemented method for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and financial information; and

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method forproviding insurance quotes; loan offers; and/or insurance-related,financial-related, and/or other offers or services to existing customersat vehicle dealerships;

FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary computer-implemented method forproviding insurance quotes; loan offers; and/or insurance-related,financial-related, and/or other offers or services to existing customersat vehicle dealerships;

FIG. 11 illustrates another exemplary computer-implemented method forproviding insurance quotes; loan offers; and/or insurance-related,financial-related, and/or other offers or services to existing customersat vehicle dealerships; and

FIG. 12 illustrates another exemplary computer-implemented method forproviding insurance quotes; loan offers; and/or insurance-related,financial-related, and/or other offers or services to existing customersat vehicle dealerships.

The Figures depict exemplary embodiments for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the systems and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesof the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, enhancing customerservice by providing instant insurance quotes, vehicle loan offers,and/or other services to existing policyholders while they are atvehicle dealerships. Vehicle and insurance information may betransmitted to a mobile device of an insurance customer while they areshopping for vehicles at one or more vehicle dealerships. The vehicleand insurance information may be transmitted to the customer mobiledevice directly from a smart vehicle controller of a vehicle or from avehicle-mounted beacon, such as an iBeacon®. Additionally oralternatively, the vehicle and insurance information may be directly orindirectly transmitted to customer mobile device from a remote server,such as a financial services or insurance provider, or vehiclemanufacturer, remote server. The vehicle controller and/orvehicle-mounted beacon may act as a relay between the remote server andcustomer mobile device in some embodiments.

The vehicle information may include several features of a new vehiclebeing offered for sale by the dealership, such as one or more autonomousor semi-autonomous technologies or functionalities, safety features,and/or vehicle make, model, mileage, year, color, etc. The vehicleinformation may also include several features of a trade-in vehicle thatpresently belongs to the insured or customer, including the trade-inprice or blue book value.

The insurance information may include an insurance quote for a newinsurance policy covering the new vehicle, along with limits, coverages,and deductible information. Additionally or alternatively, the insuranceinformation may include drivers to be covered by insurance for thevehicle, and/or insurance premiums, discounts, rates, or other insuranceinformation associated with the vehicle. The insurance information mayalso include updated premiums if the new vehicle is purchased, and theold vehicle is traded in, or otherwise sold.

In one embodiment, an insurance provider (or financial servicesprovider) may create, purchase, and/or program Bluetooth® LE beaconsthat contain information about select vehicles. Bluetooth® LE beacons,after programming, may then be sent to select dealerships. iBeacons® mayinitially be sent to dealerships with high volume, for example. Beaconsfor new model year vehicles may have information about the vehicle(year, make, model, etc.) and be placed in, on, and/or near the vehicle.Beacons may broadcast car or other type of vehicle information to aninsurance provider mobile device app, such as the State Farm PocketAgent smart phone app, when the customer is within or near the selectedvehicle, or near the beacon. The app may be a stand-alone app that hasaccess to an insurance customer's existing insurance policy and/or othercustomer information.

When a policyholder is near the vehicle, the Pocket Agent app may usethe vehicle information from the beacon to calculate and display aninsurance quote for the vehicle at the dealership. The Pocket Agent appmay notify the customer that an instant quote is available for thevehicle they are presently physically within or near. Upon opening thePocket Agent app, a quote may be displayed for the vehicle that thepolicyholder is within or near. Policyholders may have the option tocompare the quotes from multiple vehicles, including other vehicles thatthe policyholder has looked at while at the dealership(s). Quotes may becompared to existing policies. For instance, the policy for the newvehicle may be presented as a policy for an added or replacementvehicle, and displayed for side-by-side comparison with policies ofexisting vehicles owned by the policyholder.

When new model year vehicles become available, the beacons may bereprogrammed with new information and moved to, and/or mounted on orwithin, the new vehicles. Dealerships may provide input on which oftheir vehicles they would like the beacons to be assigned to. A separateapp may be provided to dealerships allowing them to reassign the beaconto a new vehicle.

Exemplary Dealership Benefits

A dealership may benefit from having these beacons in popular vehicles.Exemplary benefits to dealerships may include those mentioned below. Forinstance, one benefit may relate to additional vehicle information. Themobile device app may provide links to vehicle safety information toshowcase the features of the vehicle. As new vehicles (e.g.,automobiles, boats, planes, mobile homes, etc.) are produced with newertechnology and better features, the app may be able to provideadditional information about the vehicle's technology that may not beintuitive without driving the vehicle. The app may provide interactivescreens to explore the type of engine and “what's under the hood,”and/or tutorials on how to use new technology in the vehicle.

Another benefit may relate to streamlining the insurance process. Theapp may streamline the process of switching insurance to the new vehicleso that the dealership wouldn't need to wait for any delays caused bylack of coverage. It may also provide a unique means of allowinginsurance customers certain benefits, such as adding insurance for a newvehicle and/or cancelling insurance for an old or trade-in vehicle.

Another benefit may relate to summary statistics. An insurance providercould send the dealership or manufacturer summary information about thevehicles that a majority of customers are interested in. For instance,in January, 50% of app users in the dealership approached the 2016 HondaCivic spending an average of 10 minutes near the vehicle. Of those thatapproached the 2016 Honda Civic, 10% viewed a comparison quote as areplacement for their current vehicle. The summary statistics may revealto vehicle dealers which vehicles are, or are not, moving off the lot orselling in a timely manner—such as to provide for inventory management,and/or to provide vehicle sales information.

Another benefit may relate to dealership information. The app mayprovide links to other dealership sponsored information. For instance,the app may provide links to dealership promotions or specials.

Another benefit may relate to financing information. The app may connectthe policyholder to a bank, such as State Farm Bank, to provideinformation about financing options and/or a pre-approved car or othervehicle loan. This may make the financing process for the dealershipmore efficient. If the dealership offers financing, a link to thatinformation may be provided in the app.

Another benefit may relate to vehicle trade-in information. The app mayprovide the dealership information about the vehicle (e.g., automobile,boat, plane, motor cycle, etc.) that the customer plans to trade in tomake it easier to provide and/or determine the trade-in value (orestimated value) of the vehicle being replaced.

Another benefit may relate to finding the right car (or other vehicle).The app may allow the customer to select the features that they arelooking for in a vehicle, and/or notify the customer when the vehiclethey are near matches their criteria. Or, if the vehicle is not aperfect match, which desired features are not available.

Exemplary Embodiments

The present embodiments described in this patent application and otherpossible embodiments may relate to systems and methods for transmittingand receiving vehicle, insurance, and financial information. Embodimentsof the present invention may be utilized to provide a customer withimmediate insurance and/or financing information when he is consideringbuying a new or used vehicle. In some embodiments, insurance and/orfinancial institutions may procure a plurality of communication beacons,such as Bluetooth® beacons or iBeacons®, and program, or otherwiseconfigure, them with data regarding the vehicle or pointers to specialoffers. Each communication beacon may include a wireless transmitter andreceiver (transceiver), memory, and processor electronic circuits housedin a small box or package. Additionally or alternatively, eachcommunication beacon may include an accelerometer (and/or other sensors)to detect vehicle movement (such as opening a car door or test drivingthe vehicle). Each communication beacon may also include additional oralternative hardware or sensors, including those discussed elsewhereherein and/or in relation to the exemplary vehicle control system and/ormobile electronic device (see, e.g., FIGS. 4 and 5 and accompanyingtext).

The communication beacon may transmit the information to a mobileelectronic device when the beacon detects the presence of the devicenearby. The insurance and/or financial institutions may provide vehicledealerships with communication beacons associated with vehicles ofinterest for which the institutions want to offer information or deals.One or more communication beacons may be placed in, on, or in closeproximity to each vehicle of interest.

In other embodiments, certain vehicles may be equipped with a vehiclecontrol system that may include a wireless transceiver, antenna, memory,and/or processor electronic circuits. The vehicle control system may beprogrammed, or otherwise configured, with the same data as thecommunication beacons. The vehicle control system may transmit theinformation to the mobile electronic device either when the device is inthe presence of the vehicle or when a trigger event, such as thecustomer sitting in the vehicle, or being near the vehicle for asustained period of time, occurs.

With either embodiment, the customer may visit a vehicle dealership andbrowse the vehicles. If the customer is in possession of a mobileelectronic device, such as a smart watch, a smart phone, a tablet, apalmtop or laptop computer, smart glasses, PDA (Personal DigitalAssistant), or other mobile device configured for wireless communicationand/or data transmission, the communication beacon or the vehiclecontrol system may detect the presence of the mobile electronic deviceand may transmit the data thereto. The mobile electronic device may beexecuting a software application that receives the data. If the dataincludes vehicle information, such as vehicle identification number(VIN) or a make, a model, and a year of the vehicle, then theapplication may transmit the information to a server of one or moreinstitutions, such as an insurance provider, financial institution, orvehicle manufacturer.

The server may return information to the mobile electronic deviceregarding an automobile insurance rate quote or a loan offer. Thesoftware application may display the information on a screen of themobile electronic device and may present an option for the customer tosave the information. If the data includes a pointer, then the softwareapplication may follow the pointer to a server or web site that includesinformation about special offers for the particular vehicle or group ofvehicles. The special offers may include discounted insurance rates,special financing deals, limited time deals, and the like. The softwareapplication may display the special offers on the screen of the mobileelectronic device and may present an option for the customer to save thespecial offers. Additionally, the software application may prompt theuser to approve or modify the terms of an insurance offer, a loan offer,or both. The software application may then transmit the user's choiceback to the server.

Alternatively, the software application may be an extension of, or incommunication with, an existing software application, such as the PocketAgent application from the State Farm Mutual Automobile InsuranceCompany of Bloomington, Ill. The software application of the presentinvention may receive vehicle information from the communication beaconor the vehicle control system, and may transfer the information to theexisting software application, which may transmit the information to theappropriate server to request insurance or loan information.

Specific embodiments of the technology will now be described inconnection with the attached drawing figures. The embodiments areintended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Otherembodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departingfrom the scope of the present invention. The following detaileddescription is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. Thescope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims,along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims areentitled.

Exemplary System

FIGS. 1 and 2 depict an exemplary environment in which embodiments of asystem 10 may be utilized for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and/or financial data. The environment may include a vehicledealership, as seen in FIG. 1, which includes a plurality of vehicles 12for sale, wherein the vehicles 12 may be new or used and of any type.The environment may further include a network 14 and one or morecomputer servers 16, as seen in FIG. 2, with which the system 10interfaces to send and receive vehicle, financing, and/or insuranceinformation. The system 10 may be utilized to automatically communicatewith an insurance and/or financial institution to provide a customerwith insurance rate and/or auto loan information. In some cases,multiple institutions may be involved. In other cases, a singleinstitution may provide both insurance and financing services. Thesystem 10 may broadly comprise one or more communication beacons 18, oneor more vehicle control systems 20, and one or more mobile electronicdevices 22, each executing a software application 24.

The network 14 may generally allow communication between the mobileelectronic devices 22 and the servers 16. The network 14 may includelocal area networks, metro area networks, wide area networks, cloudnetworks, the Internet, cellular networks, plain old telephone service(POTS) networks, and the like, or combinations thereof. The network 14may be wired, wireless, or combinations thereof and may includecomponents such as modems, gateways, switches, routers, hubs, accesspoints, repeaters, towers, and the like. The mobile electronic devices22 generally connect to the network 14 wirelessly, such as radiofrequency (RF) communication using wireless standards such as cellular2G, 3G, or 4G, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 standards such as WiFi, IEEE 802.16 standards such as WiMAX,Bluetooth®, or combinations thereof.

Each computer server 16 generally retains electronic data and mayrespond to requests to retrieve data as well as to store data. Thecomputer server 16 may be embodied by application servers, databaseservers, file servers, gaming servers, mail servers, print servers, webservers, or the like, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, the computerserver 16 may include a plurality of servers, virtual servers, orcombinations thereof. The computer server 16 may also includeprocessors, memory storage such as optical drives, hard disk drives,rack-mount drives, blade drives, and the like, and transceivercomponents that provide communication with the network 14.

The computer server 16 may be configured to include or execute softwaresuch as file storage applications, database applications, email ormessaging applications, web server applications, or the like. Thecomputer server 16 may apply business methods or algorithms, may utilizelookup tables or databases, or combinations thereof to determineinsurance rates or premiums, terms of a loan, or both. Insuranceproviders and financial institutions may each own one or more computerservers 16 that may automatically provide information about insurancerates and premiums, as well as loan information when a request for suchinformation is received.

Each communication beacon 18 may generally provide information to amobile electronic device 22 when the mobile electronic device 22 is inthe vicinity of the communication beacon 18. The communication beacon 18may be embodied by a Bluetooth® beacon or an iBeacon®, each of whichutilize the Bluetooth® wireless communication protocol in general, orthe Bluetooth® low energy (BLE) protocol. It is within the scope of thepresent invention that the communication beacon 18 may additionally oralternatively utilize other communication protocols, such as WiFi,WiMAX, cellular, or the like. The communication beacon 18 may include atransceiver element 26, a memory element 28, and a processing element30, seen in FIG. 3, as well as an electrical power source housed in asmall box or package. One or more communication beacons 18 may be placedon, such as on the roof, trunk, or hood, in, such as on a seat, on thecenter console, or on the dashboard, or within a few feet of eachassociated vehicle 12.

The transceiver element 26 may generally allow communication withsystems or devices external to the communication beacon 18. Thetransceiver element 26 may include signal or data transmitting andreceiving circuits, such as antennas, amplifiers, filters, mixers,oscillators, digital signal processors (DSPs), and the like. Thetransceiver element 26 may establish communication wirelessly byutilizing RF signals and/or data that comply with communicationstandards such as cellular 2G, 3G, or 4G, WiFi, WiMAX, Bluetooth®, BLE,or combinations thereof. The transceiver element 26 may be incommunication with the processing element 30 and the memory element 28.

The memory element 28 may include data storage components, such asread-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM, erasable programmable ROM,random-access memory (RAM) such as static RAM (SRAM) or dynamic RAM(DRAM), cache memory, hard disks, floppy disks, optical disks, flashmemory, thumb drives, universal serial bus (USB) drives, or the like, orcombinations thereof. In some embodiments, the memory element 28 may beembedded in, or packaged in the same package as, the processing element30. The memory element 28 may include, or may constitute, a“computer-readable medium”. The memory element 28 may store theinstructions, code, code segments, software, firmware, programs,applications, apps, services, daemons, or the like that are executed bythe processing element 30. In particular, the memory element 28 maystore information about a particular vehicle 12.

The processing element 30 may include processors, microprocessors(single-core and multi-core), microcontrollers, DSPs, field-programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), analog and/or digital application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), or the like, or combinations thereof. Theprocessing element 30 may generally execute, process, or runinstructions, code, code segments, software, firmware, programs,applications, apps, processes, services, daemons, or the like. Theprocessing element 30 may also include hardware components such asfinite-state machines, sequential and combinational logic, and otherelectronic circuits that can perform the functions necessary for theoperation of the current invention. The processing element 30 may be incommunication with the other electronic components through serial orparallel links that include address busses, data busses, control lines,and the like.

Each communication beacon 18 may be assigned or configured, typically byits manufacturer, with a universally unique identifier (UUID), a 128-bitvalue. In addition, each communication beacon 18 may be programmed orconfigured by insurance carriers, financial institutions, or vehicledealers to include information about an associated vehicle 12, such asthe vehicle identification number (VIN), the make, the model, the year,the mileage, the options, and the condition of the vehicle 12, or thelike, as well as combinations thereof. Additionally or alternatively,one or more communication beacons 18 may be programmed or configured toinclude one or more pointers, such as universal resource locators (URLs)or the like, which include information about discounted insurance rates,special financing deals, limited time deals, and the like. In somecases, this information may apply to more than one vehicle 12.

The communication beacon 18 may function as follows. At a frequency of,for example, 1 Hertz (Hz) to 10 Hz, the communication beacon 18 maywirelessly transmit through the transceiver element 26 a packet of data,which includes, at the least, the UUID. The packet of data may alsoinclude vehicle information, one or more pointers, or a combination ofboth. In some embodiments, the software application 24 executing on themobile electronic device 22 may receive just the UUID and may transmit areply that queries the communication beacon 18 for additionalinformation, such as the vehicle information or any relevant pointers.The communication beacon 18 may then comply with the request andtransmit additional information. In other embodiments, the packet ofdata may include information in addition to the UUID. The softwareapplication 24 may receive all of the information and not requireanything else from the communication beacon 18.

The vehicle control system 20 may generally provide control of theelectronic components of the vehicle 12. Most vehicles 12 may include atleast a simple vehicle control system 20 that provides control ofcomponents such as dashboard displays, the heating and air conditioningsystem, and the audio system. Vehicle control systems 20 that fallwithin the scope of the present invention may generally include atransceiver element 32, a memory element 34, and a processing element36, seen in FIG. 4 and all substantially similar in structure and basicto the like-named components for the communication beacon 18. Thevehicle control system 20 may also include sensors 38, for example, inone or more seats to measure weight, accelerometers 40 to measure speedor acceleration of the vehicle 12, and the like to detect triggerevents. Furthermore, the vehicle control system 20 may have Bluetooth®or similar wireless communication protocol capability.

In a similar fashion to the communication beacon 18, the vehicle controlsystem 20 may be programmed to include a UUID along with vehicleinformation, one or more pointers, or a combination of both. Duringoperation, in some embodiments, the vehicle control system 20 mayrepeatedly transmit the UUID and optionally, the vehicle information orthe pointers. The software application 24 executing on the mobileelectronic device 22 may respond in the same fashion as discussed abovewith the communication beacon 18. In other embodiments, the vehiclecontrol system 20 may be programmed or configured to transmit the UUID,at the least, when a trigger event occurs. The trigger event may includethe customer sitting in the driver's seat, starting the engine, drivingat a certain speed, opening a driver's side or other door, shutting adoor, adjusting vehicle controls/settings (e.g., mirrors, seat, steeringwheel, etc.), or the like. Additionally or alternatively, the triggerevent may be that the customer's mobile electric device 22 comes withinBluetooth® or Near Field Communication (NFC) (or other wirelesscommunication or data transmission technique) range of the vehiclecontrol system 20 or communication beacon 18, or is otherwise detectedby the vehicle control system 20 or communication beacon 18, ordetermined to be near or in close proximity to the vehicle for asustained period of time, such as a minute or two. Further exemplarytrigger events may be generated from and/or based upon (1) the vehicle'sbuilt in features (e.g., seat, door, or speed sensors); (2) an externalcommunication beacon placed or positioned within the vehicle (e.g., aniBeacon with an accelerometer or other sensor); (3) a mobile device,such as a smart phone (i.e., GPS data that includes speed information);and/or other triggers, including those discussed elsewhere herein. Oncethe trigger event occurs, the software application 24 may receive theUUID and other information, if transmitted.

The mobile electronic device 22 may be embodied by a smart watch, asmart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a palmtop orlaptop computer, or other mobile device, and is typically carried by thecustomer while he is shopping for a vehicle. The mobile electronicdevice 22 may include a transceiver element 42, a memory element 44,and/or a processing element 46, seen in FIG. 5 and all similar instructure and basic function to the like-named components for thecommunication beacon 18 and the vehicle control system 20. Specificallyfor the mobile electronic device 22, the memory element 44 may store thesoftware application 24 and the processing element 46 may execute thesoftware application 24.

The mobile electronic device 22 may function as follows. Bluetooth®, orsimilar protocol, communication on the mobile electronic device 22 maybe enabled and the software application 24 may be executing while thecustomer is browsing and walking in the vicinity of the vehicles 12. Thesoftware application 24 may receive and send data, as described in moredetail below, through the transceiver element 42 of the mobileelectronic device 22.

The software application 24 may generally control the behavior of themobile electronic device 22 when the device 22 is interacting with thecommunication beacon 18 or the vehicle control system 20 and the servers16. The software application 24 may receive at least the UUID from thecommunication beacon 18 or the vehicle control system 20. In someembodiments, the software application 24 may rely on Bluetooth® pairingto initiate communication with the communication beacon 18 or thevehicle control system 20. The software application 24 may respond bytransmitting a query to the communication beacon 18 or the vehiclecontrol system 20 to send additional information. If the communicationbeacon 18 or the vehicle control system 20 transmits vehicleinformation, or if the vehicle information was originally transmittedwith the UUID, then the software application 24 may transmit the vehicleinformation to the appropriate computer server 16. The computer server16 may receive the information and may apply business methods oralgorithms, may utilize lookup tables or databases, or combinationsthereof to determine insurance rates or premiums (and/or discounts),terms of a loan (e.g., amount, term, interest rate, monthly payments,etc.), or both. The computer server 16 may then transmit the determinedinformation to the software application 24. The software application 24may display the insurance rates, loan terms, or both on a screen of themobile electronic device 22. The software application 24 may furtherprovide the customer with the option of accepting the quote for theinsurance or loan, modifying the terms of the insurance or loan, savingthe information, or the like.

If the communication beacon 18 or the vehicle control system 20transmits pointer information about special deals, or if the pointerinformation was originally transmitted with the UUID, then the softwareapplication 24 may transmit the pointer to a web browser or other htmlviewer. The web browser may then display the webpage pointed to by thepointer, wherein the webpage may include information about discountedinsurance rates, special financing deals, limited time deals, and thelike.

The system 10 may operate as follows. The insurance and/or financialinstitution may procure a plurality of communication beacons 18 whichare programmed or configured to include information about an associatedvehicle 12 or pointers to special deals. Alternatively or additionally,the insurance and/or financial institution may program or configure thevehicle control system 20 of one or more vehicles for sale to includeinformation about the vehicle 12 or pointers to special deals. Once thecommunication beacons 18 are placed in or on the vehicles, or thevehicles with their vehicle control systems 20 properly programmed arepositioned, customers may browse the vehicles in a showroom or parkinglot. Each customer may carry a mobile electronic device 22 withBluetooth®, or similar protocol, communication enabled and the softwareapplication 24 executing.

As the customer walks among the vehicles, the mobile electronic device22 may enter the communication range of one or more communicationbeacons 18 which are periodically transmitting information. The softwareapplication 24 may receive the transmission from the communicationbeacon 18 and may transmit information about the particular vehicle toone or more servers 16. The server 16 may process the information aboutthe vehicle and may respond to the software application 24 withinformation regarding insurance rates, loan terms, or both. The softwareapplication 24 may display the information to the customer and mayprovide an option for the customer to respond to the offers of insuranceand/or financing. If the communication beacons 18 transmit pointers,then the software application 24 may open a web browser and transfer thepointer thereto. The web browser may then display information to thecustomer.

In other embodiments, as the customer walks among the vehicles, themobile electronic device 22 may enter the communication range of one ormore vehicle control systems 20, which may transmit information in thesame fashion as discussed above with the software application 24responding in the same fashion as well. Alternatively, the vehiclecontrol system 20 may be programmed or configured to transmitinformation to the mobile electronic device 22 only when a trigger eventoccurs, such as the customer sitting in the driver's seat, starting theengine, driving at a certain speed, or the like, or that the customer'smobile device moves within a proximity to the vehicle or acommunications beacon, such as within Bluetooth® or Near FieldCommunication range. In some embodiments, trigger events may be detected(and associated wireless communication may be generated by) a customer'smobile device, the vehicle control system, and/or a communication beacon(such as a communication beacon with sensors and/or a GPS unit for speedmonitoring and vehicle movement determination). Once the trigger eventoccurs, the software application 24 may receive the information and mayrespond as discussed above.

In one aspect, each mobile device 22 may be configured to communicatewith one another directly via peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless communicationand/or data transfer. In other aspects, each mobile device 22 may beconfigured to communicate indirectly with one another and/or anysuitable device via communications over network 14, such as externalcomputing server 16, vehicle control system 20, and/or communicationbeacon 18, for example. In still other aspects, each mobile device maybe configured to communicate directly and indirectly with one and/or anysuitable device, which may be concurrent communications orcommunications occurring at separate times.

Each mobile device 22 may be configured to send data to and/or receivedata from one another and/or via network 14 using one or more suitablecommunication protocols, which may be the same communication protocolsor different communication protocols as one another. To provide anexample, mobile devices 22 may be configured to communicate with oneanother via a direct radio link (or radio wave or radio frequency link),which may utilize, for example, a Wi-Fi direct protocol, an ad-hoccellular communication protocol, etc. Furthermore, mobile devices 22 maybe configured to communicate with the vehicle on-board computers locatedin vehicles 12, respectively, utilizing a BLUETOOTH communicationprotocol (radio link(s) not shown).

To provide additional examples, mobile devices 22 may be configured tocommunicate with one another via radio links by each communicating withnetwork 14 utilizing a cellular communication protocol. As an additionalexample, mobile devices 22 may be configured to communicate withexternal computing devices or servers 16 via radio links, such aswireless communication radio links or frequencies.

Mobile computing or electronic devices 22 may be configured to executeone or more algorithms, programs, applications, etc., to determine ageographic location of each respective mobile device 22 (and thus theirassociated vehicle) and/or vehicle data, and broadcast the geographicdata and/or vehicle data via their respective radio links, to receivethe geographic data and/or vehicle data via their respective radiolinks, and/or to display information based upon the geographic dataand/or vehicle data.

Network 14 may be implemented as any suitable network configured tofacilitate communications between mobile devices 22, computer servers16, communication beacons 18, and vehicle controllers 20. For example,network 14 may include one or more telecommunication networks, nodes,and/or links used to facilitate data exchanges between one or moredevices, and may facilitate a connection to the Internet for devicesconfigured to communicate with network 14. Network 14 may include anysuitable number of interconnected network components that form anaggregate network system, such as dedicated access lines, plain ordinarytelephone lines, satellite links, cellular base stations, a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), etc., or any suitable combinationthereof. Network 14 may include, for example, a proprietary network, asecure public internet, a mobile-based network, a virtual privatenetwork, etc.

In aspects in which network 14 facilitates a connection to the Internet,data communications may take place over the network 14 via one or moresuitable Internet communication protocols. For example, network 14 maybe implemented as a wireless telephony network (e.g., GSM, CDMA, LTE,etc.), a Wi-Fi network (e.g., via one or more IEEE 802.11 Standards), aWiMAX network, a Bluetooth network, etc. Thus, radio or radio wave linksmay represent wired links, wireless links, or any suitable combinationthereof.

External computing server(s) 16 may be configured to execute varioussoftware applications, algorithms, and/or other suitable programs.External computing server 16 may be implemented as any suitable type ofdevice to facilitate the functionality as described herein. For example,external computing server 16 may be implemented as a network server, aweb-server, a database server, one or more databases and/or storagedevices, or any suitable combination thereof.

In one aspect, external computing server 16 may additionally oralternatively be part of an insurer computing system (or facilitatecommunications with an insurer computer system), and as such may accessinsurer databases, execute algorithms, execute applications, accessremote servers, communicate with remote processors, etc., as needed toperform insurance-related functions. For example, external computingserver 16 may cause data associated with the vehicle informationdiscussed herein, vehicle features or ratings, vehicle pricing,insurance pricing, and/or vehicle loan offers to be transmitted tomobile devices 22. External server 16 may also facilitate the receipt oftelematics data or other data from one or more mobile computing devices22, which may be associated with insurance customers and/or running atelematics application thereon.

In aspects in which external computing server 16 facilitatescommunications with an insurer computing system (or is part of such asystem), data received from one or more mobile electronic or computingdevices 22 may include logon credentials which may be verified byexternal computing server 16 or one or more other external computingdevices, servers, etc. These logon credentials may be associated with aninsurer profile, which may include, for example, insurance policynumbers, a description and/or listing of insured assets, vehicleidentification numbers of insured vehicles, addresses of insuredstructures, contact information, premium rates, discounts, etc.

In this way, data received from one or more mobile devices 22 may allowexternal computing server 16 to uniquely identify each insured customerand/or whether each identified insurance customer has installed thetelematics or other type of mobile device application. Furthermore, anydata collected, with customer permission or affirmative consent, fromone or more mobile devices 22 may be referenced to each insurancecustomer and/or any insurance policies associated with each insurancecustomer for various insurance-related purposes.

First Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method

FIG. 6 depicts a listing of steps of a first exemplarycomputer-implemented method 100 for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and/or financial data. The steps may be performed in theorder shown in FIG. 6, or they may be performed in a different order.Furthermore, some steps may be performed concurrently as opposed tosequentially. In addition, some steps may be optional. The steps of thecomputer-implemented method 100 may be performed by the system 10, witha first portion of the steps being performed by the communication beacon18 and a second portion of the steps being performed by the mobileelectronic device 22.

Referring to step 101, information about a vehicle 12 may be transmittedon a regular basis from a communication beacon 18. The vehicle 12 may benew or used and of any type. The information may include the VIN, themake, the model, the year, the mileage, the options, and the conditionof the vehicle 12, or the like, as well as combinations thereof. Thecommunication beacon 18 may be embodied by a Bluetooth® beacon or aniBeacon®, and may include a transceiver element 26 for communicatingwith mobile electronic devices 22, a memory element 28 for storingvehicle information, and/or a processing element 30 for controlling theoperation of the communication beacon 18. The communication beacon 18may be programmed or configured to include the vehicle information by aninsurance carrier and/or a financial institution. One or morecommunication beacons 18 may be placed on, in, or within a few feet ofeach associated vehicle 12. The vehicle information may be transmittedby the communication beacon 18 using Bluetooth® or a similarcommunication protocol.

Referring to step 102, the vehicle information may be received with amobile electronic device 22. The mobile electronic device 22 may beembodied by a smart watch, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a tablet, a palmtop or laptop computer, or the like, and istypically carried by the customer while he is shopping for a vehicle.The mobile electronic device 22 may include a transceiver element 42 forcommunicating with external systems or devices, a memory element 44 forstoring data, and/or a processing element 46 for executing a softwareapplication 24.

Referring to step 103, the vehicle information may be transmitted fromthe mobile electronic device 22 to a computer server 16, which may beowned or accessed by an insurance or financial institution. The computerserver 16 may receive the information and may apply business methods oralgorithms, may utilize lookup tables or databases, or combinationsthereof to determine insurance rates or premiums, terms of a loan, orboth. The computer server 16 may then transmit the determinedinformation to the software application 24.

Referring to steps 104 and 105, the information regarding an insurancequote or auto loan may be received by the mobile electronic device 22.The information may also be displayed on a screen of the mobileelectronic device 22 for the customer to view. The customer may reviewthe terms of the insurance quote or auto loan and may wish to approve ormodify the terms. Alternatively, the customer may simply save theinformation for viewing at a later time.

Referring to steps 106 and 107, input from the customer may be acceptedon the mobile electronic device 22 regarding the insurance quote or autoloan. The input may include approval or modification of the terms. Theapproval or modification is transmitted from the mobile electronicdevice 22 to the computer server 16. The method 100 may includeadditional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein, and/or may be implemented via a computer system,communication network, one or more processors or servers (e.g.,communication beacons, vehicle control/communication systems, mobiledevices, and/or remote servers), and/or computer-executable instructionsstored on non-transitory storage media or computer readable medium.

Second Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method

FIG. 7 depicts a listing of steps of a second exemplarycomputer-implemented method 200 for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and/or financial data. The steps may be performed in theorder shown in FIG. 7, or they may be performed in a different order.Furthermore, some steps may be performed concurrently as opposed tosequentially. In addition, some steps may be optional. The steps of thecomputer-implemented method 200 may be performed by the system 10, witha first portion of the steps being performed by the vehicle controlsystem 20 and a second portion of the steps being performed by themobile electronic device 22.

Referring to step 201, a trigger event may be detected which may occurin a vehicle 12 with a vehicle control system 20. The vehicle 12 may benew or used and of any type. The trigger event may include actions suchas the customer sitting in the driver's seat, starting the engine,driving at a certain speed, adjusting a mirror or seat, adjusting theradio, or the like. The vehicle control system 20 generally may providecontrol of the electronic components of the vehicle 12, and/or mayinclude a transceiver element 32 for communicating with mobileelectronic devices 22, a memory element 34 for storing vehicleinformation, and/or a processing element 36 for controlling theoperation of the vehicle control system 20. The vehicle control system20 may also include sensors 38, accelerometers 40, and the like todetect trigger events.

Further exemplary trigger events may be generated from and/or based upon(1) the vehicle's built in features (e.g., seat, door, engine, mirror,or speed sensors); (2) an external communication beacon placed orpositioned within the vehicle (e.g., an iBeacon with an accelerometer orother sensor); (3) a mobile device, such as a smart phone (i.e., GPSdata that includes speed information); and/or other triggers, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein.

Referring to step 202, information about the vehicle 12 may betransmitted by the vehicle control system 20 after the trigger eventoccurs. The information may include the VIN, the make, the model, theyear, the mileage, the options, and the condition of the vehicle 12, orthe like, as well as combinations thereof. The vehicle control system 20may be programmed or configured to include the vehicle information by aninsurance carrier and/or a financial institution. The vehicleinformation may be transmitted by the vehicle control system 20 usingBluetooth® or a similar communication protocol. One or more sensors 38or accelerometers 40 may detect one or more trigger events and maysignal the processing element 36 that the trigger event has occurred.The processing element 36 may then transmit the vehicle informationthrough the transceiver element 32.

Referring to step 203, the vehicle information may be received with amobile electronic device 22. The mobile electronic device 22 may beembodied by a smart watch, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a tablet, a palmtop or laptop computer, or the like, and istypically carried by the customer while he is shopping for a vehicle.The mobile electronic device 22 may include a transceiver element 42 forcommunicating with external systems or devices, a memory element 44 fordata storage, and a processing element 46 for executing a softwareapplication 24.

Referring to step 204, the vehicle information may be transmitted fromthe mobile electronic device 22 to a computer server 16, which may beowned or accessed by an insurance or financial institution. The computerserver 16 may receive the information and may apply business methods oralgorithms, may utilize lookup tables or databases, or combinationsthereof to determine insurance rates or premiums, terms of a loan, orboth. The computer server 16 may then transmit the determinedinformation to the software application 24.

Referring to steps 205 and 206, the information regarding an insurancequote or auto loan may be received by the mobile electronic device 22.The information may also be displayed on a screen of the mobileelectronic device 22 for the customer to view. The customer may reviewthe terms of the insurance quote or auto loan and may wish to approve ormodify the terms. Alternatively, the customer may simply save theinformation for viewing at a later time.

Referring to steps 207 and 208, input from the customer may be acceptedon the mobile electronic device 22 regarding the insurance quote or autoloan. The input may include approval or modification of the terms. Theapproval or modification may be transmitted from the mobile electronicdevice 22 to the computer server 16. The method 200 may includeadditional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein, and/or may be implemented via a computer system,communication network, one or more processors or servers (e.g.,communication beacons, vehicle control/communication systems, mobiledevices, and/or remote servers), and/or computer-executable instructionsstored on non-transitory storage media or computer readable medium.

Third Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method

FIG. 8 depicts a listing of steps of an exemplary computer-implementedmethod 300 for transmitting and receiving vehicle, insurance, and/orfinancial data. The steps may be performed in the order shown in FIG. 8,or they may be performed in a different order. Furthermore, some stepsmay be performed concurrently as opposed to sequentially. In addition,some steps may be optional. The steps of the computer-implemented method300 may be performed by the system 10, with a first portion of the stepsbeing performed by the communication beacons 18, a second portion of thesteps being performed by the vehicle control system 20, and a thirdportion of the steps being performed by the mobile electronic device 22.

Referring to step 301, information about a vehicle 12 may be transmittedon a regular basis from a communication beacon 18. The vehicle 12 may benew or used and of any type. The information may include the VIN, themake, the model, the year, the mileage, the options, and the conditionof the vehicle 12, or the like, as well as combinations thereof. Thecommunication beacon 18 may be embodied by a Bluetooth® beacon or aniBeacon®, and may include a transceiver element 26 for communicatingwith mobile electronic devices 22, a memory element 28 for storingvehicle information, and/or a processing element 30 for controlling theoperation of the communication beacon 18. The communication beacon 18may be programmed or configured to include the vehicle information by aninsurance carrier and/or a financial institution. One or morecommunication beacons 18 may be placed on, in, or within a few feet ofeach associated vehicle 12. The vehicle information may be transmittedby the communication beacon 18 using Bluetooth® or a similarcommunication protocol.

Referring to step 302, a trigger event may be detected which may occurin the vehicle 12 with a vehicle control system 20. The trigger eventmay include actions such as the customer sitting in the driver's seat,starting the engine, driving at a certain speed, adjusting a seat ormirror to account for the driver's height, opening or closing vehicledoors, or the like. The vehicle control system 20 generally may providecontrol of the electronic components of the vehicle 12, and/or mayinclude a transceiver element 32 for communicating with mobileelectronic devices 22, a memory element 34 for storing vehicleinformation, and/or a processing element 36 for controlling theoperation of the vehicle control system 20. The vehicle control system20 may also include sensors 38, accelerometers 40, and the like todetect trigger events.

Referring to step 303, information about the vehicle 12 may betransmitted by the vehicle control system 20 after the trigger eventoccurs. The information may include the VIN, the make, the model, theyear, the mileage, the options, and the condition of the vehicle 12, orthe like, as well as combinations thereof. The vehicle control system 20may be programmed or configured to include the vehicle information by aninsurance carrier and/or a financial institution. The vehicleinformation may be transmitted by the vehicle control system 20 usingBluetooth® or a similar communication protocol. One or more sensors 38or accelerometers 40 may detect one or more trigger events and maysignal the processing element 36 that the trigger event has occurred.The processing element 36 may then transmit the vehicle informationthrough the transceiver element 32.

Referring to step 304, the vehicle information may be received with amobile electronic device 22. The mobile electronic device 22 may beembodied by a smart watch, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a tablet, a palmtop or laptop computer, or the like, and may betypically carried by the customer while he is shopping for a vehicle.The mobile electronic device 22 may include a transceiver element 42 forcommunicating with external systems or devices, a memory element 44 fordata storage, and/or a processing element 46 for executing a softwareapplication 24. The vehicle information may be received from either acommunication beacon 18, a vehicle control system 20, or both.

Referring to step 305, the vehicle information may be transmitted fromthe mobile electronic device 22 to a computer server 16, which may beowned or accessed by an insurance or financial institution. The computerserver 16 may receive the information and may apply business methods oralgorithms, may utilize lookup tables or databases, or combinationsthereof to determine insurance rates or premiums, terms of a loan, orboth. The computer server 16 may then transmit the determinedinformation to the software application 24.

Referring to steps 306 and 307, the information regarding an insurancequote or auto loan may be received by the mobile electronic device 22.The information may also be displayed on a screen of the mobileelectronic device 22 for the customer to view. The customer may reviewthe terms of the insurance quote or auto loan and may wish to approve ormodify the terms. Alternatively, the customer may simply save theinformation for viewing at a later time.

Referring to steps 308 and 309, input from the customer may be acceptedon the mobile electronic device 22 regarding the insurance quote or autoloan. The input may include approval or modification of the terms. Theapproval or modification may be transmitted from the mobile electronicdevice 22 to the computer server 16. The method 300 may includeadditional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein, and/or may be implemented via a computer system,communication network, one or more processors or servers (e.g.,communication beacons, vehicle control/communication systems, mobiledevices, and/or remote servers), and/or computer-executable instructionsstored on non-transitory storage media or computer readable medium.

Exemplary System for Transmitting and Receiving Vehicle, Insurance, andFinancial Data

In a first aspect, a system for transmitting and receiving vehicle,insurance, and/or financial data may be provided. The system maycomprise at least one communication beacon, at least one vehicle controlsystem, and a mobile electronic device. The communication beacon may beassociated with one of a plurality of vehicles, and/or may transmitinformation about the associated vehicle. The vehicle control system maybe associated with one of a plurality of vehicles. The communicationbeacon and/or vehicle control system (and/or even the mobile electronicdevice) may be Bluetooth® enabled, may include various sensors to detecttrigger events, and/or may be configured to transmit information aboutthe associated vehicle after a trigger event occurs. The communicationbeacon, vehicle control system, and/or mobile electronic device mayinclude various sensors that detect and/or generate a trigger event,such as sound, speed, motion, or weight sensors that detect peoplewithin or in the vicinity of the vehicle. The mobile electronic devicemay include a communication element, a memory element, and/or aprocessing element which executes a software application. The softwareapplication may be configured to receive vehicle information from thecommunication beacon or the vehicle control system, transmit the vehicleinformation to a computer server, receive term information regarding aninsurance quote or auto loan, the term information determined by thecomputer server based upon the vehicle information, and/or display theterm information on a screen (such as a display associated with themobile electronic device, vehicle control system, or even thecommunication beacon itself) to a customer. The system may includeadditional, fewer, or alternate components and/or functionality,including that discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the software application may be further configured toaccept input from the customer to approve or modify the term informationand transmit the input from the customer to the computer server. Thevehicle control system may include a sensor positioned in a seat of theassociated vehicle configured to determine when the customer is sittingon the seat, and/or an accelerometer configured to determine when thecustomer drives the associated vehicle at a certain speed. The vehiclecontrol system may include door mounted sensors to detect when a vehicledoor is opened and/or closed, and/or one or more sensors mounted onadjustable items within or on the vehicle, such as mirrors, seats,entertainment systems, steering wheels, etc. The sensors may detect whenthe adjustable items are adjusted, such as a mirror, steering wheel, orseat height being adjusted by the customer to account for their heightor size before vehicle operation. The indications detected or otherwisedetermined by the sensors and/or accelerometer may be used by thevehicle control system or other processor(s) as a trigger event asexplained and used herein.

The communication beacon may be positioned in or on the associatedvehicle. In some embodiments, the communication beacon itself may detectand/or generate trigger events and/or trigger event data. For instance,the communication beacon may have a motion sensor to detect nearbymovement of customers looking at a new vehicle, an infrared sensor todetect people, a sound sensor to detect speech, an accelerometer todetect vehicle movement or speed above a certain threshold, and/or othersensors that may provide an indication that customer is looking at, orotherwise interested in purchasing, a new or other vehicle. In anotherembodiment, a communication beacon that is Bluetooth® enabled andincludes an accelerometer and/or other sensors that detect triggerevents may be considered to be a vehicle control system.

As another exemplary trigger event, the vehicle control system and/orcommunication beacon may recognize that a mobile device is withinbroadcast range, such as by detecting various transmissions or signalsoriginating from the mobile device, or signal strength determinations.The broadcast range may be a Bluetooth® broadcast or a Near FieldCommunication broadcast in one embodiment.

Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method for Transmitting and ReceivingVehicle, Insurance, and Financial Data

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method for may be provided.The method may include: (1) transmitting information about a vehicle ona regular basis from a communication beacon; (2) detecting a triggerevent occurring in a vehicle with a vehicle control system; (3)transmitting information about the vehicle from the vehicle controlsystem after the trigger event occurs; (4) receiving vehicle informationwith a mobile electronic device; (5) transmitting vehicle informationfrom the mobile electronic device to a computer server; (6) receivinginsurance quote or auto loan information with the mobile electronicdevice from the computer server; and/or (7) displaying insurance quoteor auto loan information on the mobile electronic device to a customer.

The method may include additional, fewer, or alternative actions,including those discussed elsewhere herein, and/or may be implementedvia a computer system, communication network, one or more processors orservers (e.g., communication beacons, vehicle control/communicationsystems, mobile devices, and/or remote servers), and/orcomputer-executable instructions stored on non-transitory storage mediaor computer readable medium. For instance, the method may include:accepting input from the customer to approve or modify the terminformation and transmitting the input from the customer to the computerserver.

Exemplary Embodiments

Vehicle-mounted beacons and smart vehicle controllers (which may includea factory installed and/or embedded Bluetooth® device) may transmitvehicle information to mobile devices of customers interested inpurchasing a new vehicle. When a customer is in the vicinity of a newvehicle, their mobile device may receive a broadcast, such as aBluetooth® broadcast, of vehicle information from the new vehiclecontroller or a beacon mounted within, or on, the new vehicle. Themobile device may in turn transmit that vehicle information to aninsurance or financial services provider remote server. The remoteserver may transmit quotes for vehicle insurance or offers for vehiclefinancing or loans to the mobile device for the customer's review. Thecustomer may accept the offer for vehicle insurance or financing usingtheir mobile device. In some embodiments, the vehicle informationbroadcast may be initiated when it is determined (such as by a triggerevent) that mobile device is in or near the vehicle—indicating potentialcustomer interest in purchasing the vehicle.

The present embodiments may provide several advantages over conventionaltechniques. For instance, the present embodiments may facilitate (1)using Bluetooth® beacons to broadcast vehicle information to car orother vehicle shoppers; (2) providing real time quotes at vehicledealerships; and/or (3) providing and comparing quotes for vehicles theuser is in or near (the user may not need to manually select a vehicle).Other benefits may be provided, including those discussed elsewhereherein.

In some embodiments, the present embodiments may provide usefulinformation to insurance providers, and/or insurance agents or insuranceprovider representatives. The beacons and/or new vehicles may havecertain vehicle information pre-programmed with vehicle information andfor broadcasting such vehicle information to customers interested inpurchasing a new or different vehicle. For instance, the vehicleinformation may include consumer ratings or consumer satisfactioninformation. The vehicle information may include vehicle year, make,model, year, mileage, gas mileage, customer rating, safety rating,feature information, and/or other vehicle information.

The present embodiments may be associated with employing, or wirelesslyinterconnected with, a mobile device (e.g., smart phone, tablet, laptop,computing device, smart watch or bracelet, smart glasses, personaldigital assistant (PDA), pager, other computing device configured forwireless communication or data transmission) associated with an existingcustomer or insurance policyholder. The existing customer or insurancepolicyholder may opt-in to a program where they elect to receive pushnotifications regarding new vehicles, new vehicle offers,insurance-related information or quotes, vehicle loan offers or quotes,and/or other information, including the information discussed elsewhereherein (such as opting into such a program when the customer is in themarket for a new vehicle). Such optional opt-in programs may be offeredby vehicle dealerships, insurance providers, financial servicesproviders (or banks), or other third parties.

In some embodiments, a mobile device associated with a customer orpolicyholder may detect, or otherwise determine, when it is near, or inthe vicinity, of beacon—such as a new vehicle-mounted beacon—or capableof receiving a broadcast from a beacon. The beacon may be permanently ortemporarily mounted on, or within, the new vehicle. The beacon may storevehicle information, such as Vehicle Identification Number (VIN),make/model/year information, mileage information, or other vehicleinformation, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the mobile device (such as a mobile device associated witha customer shopping for a new or different vehicle as a vehicledealership), may determine that the mobile device, and thus thecustomer, is within (i.e., seating in the driver's or passenger's seatof) the new or different vehicle. This determination may be used as anindication that the customer is interested in, or considering,purchasing the new or different vehicle.

In one embodiment, the customer may send a data transmission indicatingthat they are in the market for a new vehicle to their insuranceprovider and would like to receive such information—such as quotes forvehicle insurance or offers for vehicle loans. When the mobile device ofthe customer is near or within a new vehicle at a dealership, dealershippromotions, deals, financing or other information may be pushed to themobile device. Also, vehicle information may be pushed to the mobiledevice, such as from a vehicle controller transceiver and/or avehicle-mounted beacon. Additionally or alternatively, the mobile devicemay receive information regarding pre-calculated insurance for the newvehicle for the customer, and/or comparison information comparing thenew vehicle insurance quote with an existing vehicle insurance policyfor the customer. The insurance information may be sent to thecustomer's mobile device and/or a computing device of an insurance agentthat services the customer.

In one scenario, a mobile device may gather a list of vehicles (andassociated vehicle information) that the customer has interest in or hasviewed at several dealerships—each vehicle's information beingtransmitted to the mobile device from a vehicle controller orvehicle-mounted beacon as the customer views or test drives eachrespective vehicle. After which, the customer may access all of thevehicle information gathered for further review, and/or transmissionfrom the mobile device to a remote server. The remote server may thencalculate and transmit various offers for services and products back tothe mobile device, such as offers or quotes for vehicle insurance and/oroffers or quotes for vehicle financing or loans. The remote server mayalso transmit vehicle rating information back to the mobile device forthe customer's review and consideration.

If the customer agrees to purchase the vehicle and accepts an offer forvehicle insurance, the remote server (such as an insurance providerremote server) may automatically cancel the existing or old insurancecovering a trade-in vehicle (with the customer's permission). As such,the customer experience with vehicle purchasing may be enhanced.

Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary computer-implemented method forproviding insurance quotes; loan offers; and/or insurance-related,financial-related, and/or other offers or services to existing customersat vehicle dealerships 900. The method 900 may include detecting that amobile device is in the vicinity of a new vehicle and/or a trigger event902; requesting and/or receiving insurance and/or loan data from aremote server 904, 906; broadcasting a data transmission (includingvehicle and/or insurance data) from a vehicle controller or beacon 908;detecting the broadcast at the mobile device 910; receiving thebroadcast at the mobile device 912; presenting vehicle and/or insuranceinformation on a display of the mobile device 914; and/or transmittingacceptance and/or modification of an insurance quote and/or loan offerfrom the mobile device to the vehicle, vehicle-mounted beacon; and/orinsurance provider or financial services provider remote server 916.

The method 900 may include detecting (i) that a mobile device is in thevicinity of a new vehicle and/or (ii) a trigger event 902. As anexample, a vehicle controller or vehicle-mounted beacon may recognizethat a mobile device is within broadcast range, such as by detectingvarious transmissions or signals originating from the mobile device.Additionally or alternatively, trigger events may be used to infer thata customer interested in a vehicle is physically within it, such asdetecting operation of a vehicle door, vehicle seat, vehicle movement,operation or adjustment of a seat or mirror, indication that the vehicleis being driven (such as detected by the customer mobile device (e.g.,using accelerometer or GPS speed information), or other triggers,including those mentioned elsewhere herein.

The method 900 may include requesting and/or receiving insurance and/orloan data from a remote server 904, 906. In one aspect, the vehiclecontroller or vehicle-mounted beacon may have previously been inwireless communication with a remote server, such as an insurance orfinancial services provider remote server. Vehicle information may betransmitted from the vehicle controller or vehicle-mounted beacon to theremote server, along with a request 904 for insurance or loan offers.The vehicle controller or vehicle-mounted beacon may then receive suchoffers 906 transmitted by the remote server after the remote servercalculates or retrieves insurance or loan offers for the new vehiclebased upon or associated with the vehicle information.

The method 900 may include broadcasting a data transmission (includingvehicle and/or insurance data) from a vehicle controller or beacon 908.The vehicle controller or vehicle-mounted beacon may transmit orbroadcast (a) the vehicle information, (b) the insurance offer or quote,and/or (c) offer for a vehicle loan to the mobile device after it isdetermined that the mobile device is within range, or a trigger eventoccurs.

The method 900 may include detecting the broadcast at the mobile device910. The mobile device may determine or detect that is capable ofreceiving the broadcast or otherwise is within broadcast range (such asa low power broadcast range, a Bluetooth® range, Near FieldCommunication range, and/or other wireless data transmission orcommunication range) of the vehicle controller or vehicle-mountedbeacon. After which, the method 900 may include receiving the broadcastat the mobile device 912. The mobile device may receive and store thebroadcast into a memory unit.

The method 900 may include presenting vehicle and/or insuranceinformation on a display of the mobile device 914. The (a) vehicleinformation, (b) the insurance offer or quote, and/or (c) offer for avehicle loan may be presented on a display of the mobile device for thecustomer's review, modification, or approval.

The method 900 may include transmitting acceptance and/or modificationof an insurance quote and/or loan offer from the mobile device to thevehicle, vehicle-mounted beacon; and/or insurance provider or financialservices provider remote server 916. After which, the remote server mayfinalize the transaction, and wirelessly communication a confirmation ofthe transaction (such as the customer has acquired (i) vehicle insurancefor the new vehicle, or (ii) financing for the new vehicle) to thecustomer's mobile device and/or a computing device of the dealership.

As a result, insurance quotes and loan offers may be provided to anexisting customer or policyholder via wireless communication or datatransmission. Additionally or alternatively, other insurance orfinancial services or products may be provided to the existing customeror provider, and/or insurance-related or financial-related transactionsmay be completed, enhancing the online customer experience. The methodmay include additional, less, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

Another Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method

FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary computer-implemented method forproviding insurance quotes; loan offers; and/or insurance-related,financial-related, and/or other offers or services to existing customersat vehicle dealerships 1000. The method 1000 may include detecting thata mobile device is in the vicinity of a new vehicle 1002; detecting atrigger event 1004; broadcasting a data transmission (including vehicleand/or insurance data) from a vehicle controller or beacon 1006;detecting the broadcast at the mobile device 1008; receiving thebroadcast at the mobile device 1010; requesting and receiving insuranceand/or loan data from a remote server 1012, 1014; presenting the vehicleand/or insurance information on a display of the mobile device 1016;and/or transmitting acceptance and/or modification of an insurance quoteand/or loan offer from the mobile device to the vehicle controller,vehicle-mounted beacon, and/or insurance provider or financial servicesprovider remote server 1018.

The method 1000 may include detecting that a mobile device is in thevicinity of a new vehicle 1002. As one example, a mobile device maydetect that is it in range of, or capable receiving, a broadcast from avehicle controller or vehicle-mounted beacon. As another example, avehicle controller or vehicle-mounted beacon may recognize that a mobiledevice is within broadcast range, such as by detecting varioustransmissions or signals originating from the mobile device.

Additionally or alternatively, the method 1000 may include detecting atrigger event 1004. The trigger event may be a door of the new vehiclebeing opened or shut (as determined by a door mounted sensor); someonesitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle (as determined by seatpressure sensor); the engine of the new vehicle starting (as determineby engine rpm); the new vehicle moving (as determined by anaccelerometer); and/or other triggers, including those mentionedelsewhere herein.

The method 1000 may include broadcasting a data transmission includingvehicle information from a vehicle controller or beacon 1006. Thevehicle information may include several vehicle features andidentification information, including the vehicle information mentionedelsewhere herein.

The method 1000 may include detecting the broadcast of vehicleinformation at the mobile device 1008. Once detected, the mobile devicemay receive and store the broadcast on a memory unit of the mobiledevice 1010.

After the broadcast and vehicle information (associated with a vehiclethat the customer is interested in purchasing) is received by the mobiledevice, the mobile device in turn may transmit the vehicle informationto a remote server 1012. The transmission may include a request forproduct offers based upon the vehicle information, such as insuranceand/or loan offers.

The method 1000 may include receiving data from the remote server 1014.The data from the remote server may include insurance, financing, and/orother offers that the remote server determines or retrieves from amemory unit based upon the vehicle information originating from thevehicle controller and/or vehicle-mounted beacon.

The method 1000 may include presenting the vehicle and/or insuranceinformation on a display of the mobile device 1016. The customer mayreview the offers, such as the offers for vehicle insurance orfinancing, and accept or modify the offers.

The method 1000 may include transmitting acceptance and/or modificationof an insurance quote and/or loan offer from the mobile device to theremote server 1018. After which, the remote server may finalize thetransaction, and wirelessly communication a confirmation of thetransaction (such as the customer has acquired (i) vehicle insurance forthe new vehicle, or (ii) financing for the new vehicle) to thecustomer's mobile device and/or a computing device of the dealership.

As a result, insurance quotes and loan offers may be provided to anexisting customer or policyholder via wireless communication or datatransmission. Additionally or alternatively, other insurance orfinancial services or products may be provided to the existing customeror provider, and/or insurance-related or financial-related transactionsmay be completed, enhancing the online customer experience. The methodmay include additional, less, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

Another Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method

FIG. 11 illustrates another exemplary computer-implemented method forproviding insurance quotes; loan offers; and/or insurance-related,financial-related, and/or other offers or services to existing customersat vehicle dealerships 1100. The method 1100 may include detecting thata mobile device is in the vicinity of a new vehicle 1102; transmitting arequest for a data transmission (including vehicle and/or insurancedata) from the mobile device to a vehicle controller or beacon 1104;detecting the broadcast at the mobile device 1106; receiving thebroadcast at the mobile device and determining a vehiclemake/model/year/features 1108; requesting and receiving insurance and/orloan data from a remote server 1110, 1112; presenting the vehicle and/orinsurance information on a display of the mobile device 1114; and/ortransmitting acceptance and/or modification of an insurance quote and/orloan offer from the mobile device to the vehicle controller,vehicle-mounted beacon, and/or insurance provider or financial servicesprovider remote server 1116.

As a result, insurance quotes and loan offers may be provided to anexisting customer or policyholder via wireless communication or datatransmission. Additionally or alternatively, other insurance orfinancial services or products may be provided to the existing customeror provider, and/or insurance-related or financial-related transactionsmay be completed, enhancing the online customer experience. The methodmay include additional, less, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

Another Exemplary Computer-Implemented Method

FIG. 12 illustrates another exemplary computer-implemented method forproviding insurance quotes; loan offers; and/or insurance-related,financial-related, and/or other offers or services to existing customersat vehicle dealerships 1200. The method 1200 may include detecting abroadcast from a vehicle controller or vehicle-mounted beacon at amobile device 1202; receiving the broadcast at the mobile device anddetermining a vehicle make/model/year/features 1204; transmitting arequest for insurance or loan data from the mobile device to a remoteserver 1206; receiving insurance and/or loan data from the remote serverat the mobile device 1208; presenting the vehicle and/or insurance orloan information on a display of the mobile device 1210; and/ortransmitting acceptance and/or modification of an insurance quote and/orloan offer from the mobile device to the remote sever 1212, such asinsurance provider or financial services provider remote server.

The method 1200 may include detecting a broadcast from a vehiclecontroller or vehicle-mounted beacon at a mobile device 1202. The mobiledevice 1202 may be configured to determine if it is capable ofreceiving, or within range of, a Bluetooth®, Near Field Communication,other wireless data transmission or communication techniques, or othertype broadcast.

After which, the mobile device may receive and store the broadcast 1204,such storing the broadcast into a memory unit. For the broadcastedinformation or data, the mobile device may determine a vehicle make,model, year, miles, and/or other features of the vehicle. For instance,such vehicle information may be contained within the broadcast.

The method 1200 may include transmitting a request for insurance or loandata from the mobile device to a remote server 1206. For instance, themobile device may transmit the vehicle information along with a requestfor vehicle insurance or vehicle financing for the vehicle.

Then the method 1200 may include receiving insurance and/or loan datafrom the remote server at the mobile device 1208. The remote server maybe an insurance provider remote server. The remote server may analyzethe vehicle information and insurance customer information, and generateand transmit a quote for vehicle insurance to the mobile device.Additionally or alternatively, the remote server may be a financialservices or bank remote server. The remote server may analyze thevehicle information and customer financial or credit information, andgenerate and transmit an offer for a vehicle loan to the mobile device.

The method 1200 may include presenting the vehicle and/or insurance orloan information on a display of the mobile device 1210. The customermay view the information presented. The customer may accept an offer forvehicle insurance or an offer for a vehicle loan. Additionally oralternatively, the customer may modify the offers using their mobiledevice, such as modifying a deductible or limit of an auto insurancepolicy, or modifying the length or down payment associated with avehicle loan.

The method 1200 may include transmitting the acceptance and/ormodification of an insurance quote and/or loan offer from the mobiledevice to the remote sever 1212. After which, the remote server, such asinsurance provider or financial services provider remote server, mayfinalize the transaction and/or notify the customer and/or vehicledealership that the customer has vehicle financing and/or insurancecoverage for the new vehicle.

As a result, insurance quotes and loan offers may be provided to anexisting customer or policyholder via wireless communication or datatransmission. Additionally or alternatively, other insurance orfinancial services or products may be provided to the existing customeror provider, and/or insurance-related or financial-related transactionsmay be completed, enhancing the online customer experience. The methodmay include additional, less, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

Exemplary Mobile Device-Based Method

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of providing insurancequotes, loan offers, and/or other services or products to existinginsurance policyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. Themethod may include (1) detecting, via one or more processors (such as amobile device processor), a Bluetooth® or other broadcast from avehicle-mounted beacon or a vehicle controller, the broadcast includingvehicle information associated with a new vehicle. The method mayinclude (2) receiving, via the one or more (mobile device) processors,the broadcast from the vehicle-mounted beacon and/or a vehiclecontroller; (3) transmitting, via the one or more (mobile device)processors, the vehicle information, to a remote server (such as aninsurance or financial services provider remote server); (4) receiving,via the one or more processors, one or more offers for products orservices associated with purchasing the new vehicle, such as (i) aninsurance quote for insurance covering the new vehicle, and/or (ii) avehicle loan offer for financing the new vehicle; (5) presenting, viathe one or more processors, the one or more offers for products orservices associated with purchasing the new vehicle (including theinsurance quote for insurance covering the new vehicle, and/or thevehicle loan offer for financing the new vehicle) on a display of themobile device for review, acceptance, and/or modification by apre-existing customer or insurance policyholder; and/or (6)transmitting, via the one or more processors, an acceptance ormodification of the one or more offers for products or services(including the insurance quote or vehicle loan offer) from the mobiledevice (such as sending a data transmission to an insurance or financialservices provider remote server) via wireless communication tofacilitate providing insurance for the new vehicle or a new loan forpurchasing the new vehicle to the pre-existing customer or insurancepolicyholder, or completing another transaction for products orservices. The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions,including those discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the broadcast may be initiated by the vehicle-mountedbeacon or vehicle controller when is it determined or otherwise detectedthat the mobile device is within a broadcast range of thevehicle-mounted beacon or vehicle controller, such as within aBluetooth® or NFC broadcast range. Additionally or alternatively, thebroadcast may be initiated by the vehicle-mounted beacon or vehiclecontroller by a trigger event. The trigger event may be a door of thenew vehicle being opened or shut (as determined by a door mountedsensor); someone sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle (asdetermined by seat pressure sensor); the engine of the new vehiclestarting (as determine by engine rpm); and/or the new vehicle moving (asdetermined by an accelerometer).

Additional Exemplary Mobile Device-Based Methods

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of providing insurancequotes, loan offers, and/or other services or products to existinginsurance policyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. Themethod may include (1) determining or detecting, via one or moreprocessors (such as one or more processors of a mobile device), that themobile device is (i) within Bluetooth® (or NFC, or other wirelesscommunication or data transmission technique) range of a vehicle-mountedbeacon or a vehicle controller; and/or (ii) within or in the vicinity ofa new vehicle; (2) in response or otherwise, receiving, via the one ormore processors, a broadcast from the vehicle-mounted beacon or vehiclecontroller, the broadcast containing (a) vehicle information associatedwith the new vehicle, (b) an insurance quote for insurance covering thenew vehicle, and/or (c) a vehicle loan offer for financing the newvehicle; (3) presenting, via the one or more processors, (a) vehicleinformation associated with the new vehicle, (b) the insurance quote forinsurance covering the new vehicle, and/or (c) the vehicle loan offerfor financing the new vehicle on a display of the mobile device forreview, acceptance, and/or modification by a pre-existing customer orinsurance policyholder; and/or (4) transmitting, via the one or moreprocessors, an acceptance or modification of the insurance quote orvehicle loan offer from the mobile device (such as to an insuranceprovider or financial services provider remote server) via wirelesscommunication or data transmission to facilitate providing products orservices associated with purchasing a vehicle to the pre-existingcustomer or insurance policyholder. The method may include additional,less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the information may be transmitted to the mobile device ofthe customer only after the customer sends an indication that they arein the market for a new or different vehicle. Detecting, via the one ormore processors, that the mobile device associated is within or near anew vehicle may be determined by a trigger event, the trigger eventincluding (1) opening a vehicle door; (2) starting a vehicle; (3) movingthe vehicle; (4) a signal from a vehicle-mounted, vehicle-mounted beaconor other communication beacon, or mobile device accelerometer, speedsensor, motion sensor, or other type of sensor, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein; and/or (5) a signal from a vehicle seatpressure sensor.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of providing insurancequotes, loan offers, and/or other services or products to existinginsurance policyholders at vehicle dealerships. The method may include(1) receiving, via the one or more processors (such as one or moreprocessors of a mobile device), a broadcast from a vehicle-mountedbeacon, a vehicle controller, and/or a remote server (such as aninsurance provider remote server or a financial services provider remoteserver), the broadcast containing (a) vehicle information associatedwith the new vehicle, (b) an insurance quote for insurance covering thenew vehicle, and/or (c) a vehicle loan offer for financing the newvehicle; (2) presenting, via the one or more processors, (a) vehicleinformation associated with the new vehicle, (b) the insurance quote forinsurance covering the new vehicle, and/or (c) the vehicle loan offerfor financing the new vehicle on a display of the mobile device forreview, acceptance, and/or modification by a pre-existing customer orinsurance policyholder; and/or (3) transmitting, via the one or moreprocessors, an acceptance or modification of the insurance quote orvehicle loan offer from the mobile device (such as sending a datatransmission to an insurance or financial services provider remoteserver) via wireless communication to facilitate providing insurance forthe new vehicle or a new loan for purchasing the new vehicle to thepre-existing customer or insurance policyholder. The method may includeadditional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein.

For instance, the method may include determining or detecting, via oneor more processors (such as one or more processors of a mobile device),that the mobile device is (i) within Bluetooth® (or NFC, or otherwireless communication or data transmission technique) range of avehicle-mounted beacon or a vehicle controller; and/or (ii) within or inthe vicinity of a new vehicle may be achieved before the broadcast istransmitted (such as transmitted by a vehicle-mounted beacon and/orvehicle controller).

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of providing insurancequotes, loan offers, and/or other services or products to existinginsurance policyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. Themethod may include (1) receiving, via the one or more processors (suchas one or more processors of a mobile device), a broadcast from avehicle-mounted beacon and/or a vehicle controller, the broadcastcontaining vehicle information associated with a new vehicle; (2)transmitting, via the one or more processors, the vehicle information,to a remote server (such as an insurance or financial services providerremote server); (3) receiving, via the one or more processors, one ormore offers for products or services associated with purchasing the newvehicle, such as (i) an insurance quote for insurance covering the newvehicle, and/or (ii) a vehicle loan offer for financing the new vehicle;(4) presenting, via the one or more processors, the one or more offersfor products or services associated with purchasing the new vehicle(including the insurance quote for insurance covering the new vehicle,and/or the vehicle loan offer for financing the new vehicle) on adisplay of the mobile device for review, acceptance, and/or modificationby a pre-existing customer or insurance policyholder; and/or (5)transmitting, via the one or more processors, an acceptance ormodification of the one or more offers for products or services(including the insurance quote or vehicle loan offer) from the mobiledevice (such as sending a data transmission to an insurance or financialservices provider remote server) via wireless communication tofacilitate providing insurance for the new vehicle or a new loan forpurchasing the new vehicle to the pre-existing customer or insurancepolicyholder. The method may include additional, less, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the method may further include receiving, via the one ormore processors (of the mobile device), a confirmation that a vehicleinsurance application and/or vehicle loan application has been acceptedand that the customer has acquired the desired product (e.g., insurancefor the new vehicle, financing for the new vehicle, etc.); and/orpresenting, via the one or more processors, the confirmation on adisplay to the customer.

Additional Exemplary Methods

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of providing insurancequotes, loan offers, and/or other services or products to existinginsurance policyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. Themethod may include (1) detecting, via one or more processors, that amobile device associated is within or near a new vehicle; and/or (2) inresponse, broadcasting, via the one or more processors, vehicleinformation, an insurance quote, and/or loan offer to the mobile deviceto facilitate the mobile device displaying the vehicle information, theinsurance quote, and/or the loan offer on a display of the mobile devicefor an insurance policyholder's review, acceptance, and/or modification.The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions, includingthose discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the one or more processors may be associated with avehicle controller, a vehicle-mounted beacon, an insurance providerremote server, and/or a financial services provider remote server.Detecting, via the one or more processors, that the mobile deviceassociated is within or near a new vehicle may be determined by atrigger event, the trigger event including (1) opening a vehicle door;(2) starting a vehicle; (3) moving the vehicle; (4) a signal from avehicle-mounted, vehicle-mounted beacon or other communication beacon,or mobile device accelerometer, speed sensor, motion sensor, or othertype of sensor, including those discussed elsewhere herein; and/or (5) asignal from a vehicle seat pressure sensor. Additionally oralternatively, detecting, via the one or more processors, that themobile device associated is within or near a new vehicle may bedetermined by a trigger event, the trigger event including determiningthat the mobile device is within Bluetooth® broadcast range of a vehiclecontroller (or transceiver) and/or a vehicle-mounted beacon. Theinsurance quote may be for automobile insurance covering a newautomobile, and/or the loan offer may be for a vehicle loan forpurchasing the new automobile.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of providing insurancequotes, loan offers, and/or other services or products to existinginsurance policyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. Themethod may include (1) determining, via one or more processors (such asone or more processors associated with a vehicle controller orvehicle-mounted beacon), that a mobile device is (i) within Bluetooth®(or NFC, or other wireless communication or data transmission technique)range of a vehicle-mounted beacon or a vehicle controller; and/or (ii)within or in the vicinity of a new vehicle; and/or (2) in response,broadcasting, via the one or more processors, vehicle informationassociated with the new vehicle, an insurance quote for insurancecovering the new vehicle, and/or a vehicle loan offer for financing thenew vehicle to facilitate the mobile device presenting the vehicleinformation, insurance quote, and/or vehicle loan offer on a display ofthe mobile device for review, acceptance, and/or modification by apre-existing customer or insurance policyholder. The method may includeadditional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein.

For instance, the one or more processors may be associated with avehicle controller, a vehicle-mounted beacon, an insurance providerremote server, and/or a financial services provider remote server. Theinsurance quote may be for automobile insurance covering a newautomobile, and/or the loan offer may be for a vehicle loan forpurchasing the new automobile.

Detecting, via the one or more processors, that the mobile deviceassociated is within or near a new vehicle may be determined by atrigger event, the trigger event including (1) opening or closing avehicle door; (2) starting a vehicle or engine RPM (rotations perminute) sensor; (3) moving the vehicle; (4) a signal from avehicle-mounted, vehicle-mounted or other communication beacon, ormobile device accelerometer, speed sensor, motion sensor, or other typeof sensor, including those discussed elsewhere herein; (5) sound or bodyheat being detected in the vicinity of the vehicle; (6) operating oradjusting a window, mirror, steering wheel, seat, or entertainmentsystem (e.g., turn on or tune radio); and/or (7) a signal from a vehicleseat pressure sensor. Additionally or alternatively, detecting, via theone or more processors, that the mobile device associated is within ornear a new vehicle may be determined by a trigger event, the triggerevent including determining that the mobile device is within Bluetooth®broadcast range (or NFC, or other wireless communication or datatransmission technique range) of a vehicle controller (or transceiver)and/or a vehicle-mounted beacon.

Exemplary Near Field Communication

Near field communication (NFC) is a known technology. NFC may enablemobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets, and other devices (suchas communication beacons and/or vehicle control/communication systems)to establish radio frequency communication with each other by touchingthe devices together or bringing them in close proximity to each other,such as within a distance of 3-4 inches.

Each NFC device may work in a number of known modes, such as NFC CardEmulation; NFC Reader/Writer; and/or NFC Peer-to-Peer (P2P mode). NFCCard emulation mode may enable NFC-enabled devices to act like smartcards. NFC Reader/writer mode may enable NFC-enabled devices to readinformation stored on inexpensive NFC tags embedded in labels or smartposters. And NFC Peer-to-Peer mode may enable two NFC-enabled devices tocommunicate with each other to exchange information in a variousmanners. In other embodiments, NFC tags, and/or RFID (radio frequencyidentification) techniques may be utilized.

As noted herein, the present embodiments may enhance new or used vehicleshopping. As a customer interested in purchasing a vehicle walks about avehicle display room or vehicle dealership lot, they may move orposition their mobile device within NFC communication range (e.g., a fewinches) of a vehicle, communication beacon, and/or vehicle controlsystem (or even touch or tap the vehicle, communication beacon, and/orvehicle control system (or vehicle controller)) to initiate wirelesscommunication between the mobile device of the customer and the vehicle,communication beacon, and/or vehicle control system.

For instance, NFC communication may be used to transmit vehicleinformation (such as features and pricing), vehicle loan information oroffers, auto insurance offers or quotes, and/or other information,including that discussed herein, when a customer shopping for a vehiclebrings their mobile device within NFC communication range of thevehicle, vehicle control system or vehicle controller, or acommunication beacon, such as vehicle-mounted communication beacon.Vehicle information may also include all local vehicle prices, deals, orloan offers from a local vehicle dealership and/or other dealerships inthe area. Vehicle information may also include average vehicle pricingand/or loan information or insurance quotes/rates for specific types ofvehicles.

In addition to NFC communication, Bluetooth® communication techniques orother low power or low broadcast range techniques may be used totransmit information from the vehicle, vehicle control system or vehiclecontroller, and/or communication beacon to and/or from the customer'smobile device. Bringing the mobile device within NFC communication rangeof a communication beacon, vehicle, and/or vehicle control system may beanother trigger event, as used herein.

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of providing vehicle,vehicle loan, and/or auto insurance information to a customer via theirmobile device may be provided. The method may include (1) receiving, ata vehicle-mounted communication beacon or a vehicle control system (of avehicle) via wireless communication and/or data transmission, anindication that a mobile device (of a potential vehicle purchaser) iswithin NFC or Bluetooth® wireless communication range; and/or (2)transmitting, from the vehicle-mounted communication beacon or vehiclecontrol system, vehicle specific information (regarding the vehicle,such as pricing and feature information), vehicle loan information,and/or auto insurance (covering the vehicle) pricing or quoteinformation at, or on, a NFC or Bluetooth® radio frequency or band tothe mobile device to facilitate providing the potential vehiclepurchaser with such information, such as by displaying the informationreceived via wireless communication or data transmission on a display ofthe potential vehicle purchaser's mobile device for their review and/orapproval. The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions,including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of providing vehicle,vehicle loan, and/or auto insurance information to a customer via theirmobile device may be provided. The method may include (1) bringing orpositioning a mobile device within NFC or Bluetooth® communication rangeof a vehicle; (2) receiving, via the mobile device (and/or associatedprocessors and mobile device transceiver), vehicle informationassociated with the vehicle via a NFC or Bluetooth® data transmission orwireless communication, from a vehicle-mounted communication beaconand/or vehicle computer system (such as a vehicle controller or vehiclecontroller system) configured with a transceiver; and/or (3) displaying,via the mobile device (such as on a mobile device display screen), thevehicle information received from the vehicle-mounted communicationbeacon and/or vehicle computer system via wireless communication or datatransmission for the customer's review to facilitate enhancing thevehicle purchasing experience and/or providing vehicle loans orinsurance to the customer. The vehicle information associated with thevehicle may include vehicle feature and/or pricing information; vehicledealership offers on pricing, loans, or financing; vehicle loaninformation and/or quotes; and/or auto insurance information and/orquotes for the vehicle. The method may include additional, less, oralternative actions, including those discussed herein.

Exemplary Computer Systems

In one aspect, a computer system for providing insurance quotes, loanoffers, and/or other services or products to existing insurancepolicyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. The computersystem may include one or more local or remote processors and/orassociated transceivers configured to: (1) determine or detect that amobile device is (i) within Bluetooth® range, Near Field Communication(NFC) broadcast range, or other wireless data transmission orcommunication technique communication range of the vehicle-mountedbeacon or a vehicle controller; or (ii) within, or in the vicinity of, anew vehicle; and in response, broadcast vehicle information associatedwith the new vehicle, an insurance quote for insurance covering the newvehicle, or a vehicle loan offer for financing the new vehicle viawireless communication and data transmission to facilitate the mobiledevice presenting the vehicle information, insurance quote, or vehicleloan offer, respectively, on a display of the mobile device for review,acceptance, and/or modification by a pre-existing customer or insurancepolicyholder.

The one or more processors and associated transceivers are associatedwith a vehicle controller, a vehicle-mounted beacon, an insuranceprovider remote server, or a financial services provider remote server.Detecting, via the one or more processors and/or associatedtransceivers, that the mobile device associated is within, or near, anew vehicle may be determined by a trigger event, the trigger eventincluding (1) opening a vehicle door; or (2) starting a vehicle.Additionally or alternatively, detecting, via the one or more processorsand/or associated transceivers, that the mobile device associated iswithin, or near, a new vehicle may be determined by a trigger event, thetrigger event including: (1) moving the vehicle; (2) a signal from avehicle-mounted accelerometer or other sensor; (3) a signal from avehicle-mounted beacon accelerometer or other sensor; (4) a signal froma communication beacon-mounted accelerometer or other sensor; (5) asignal from a mobile device accelerometer or sensor; and/or (6) a signalfrom a vehicle seat pressure sensor.

Further, detecting, via the one or more processors and/or associatedtransceivers, that the mobile device associated is within or near a newvehicle is determined by a trigger event, the trigger event includingdetermining that the mobile device is within Bluetooth® broadcast range,Near Field Communication (NFC) broadcast range, or other wireless datatransmission or communication technique communication range of a vehiclecontroller (or transceiver) and/or a vehicle-mounted beacon. Theinsurance quote may be for automobile insurance covering a newautomobile, and the loan offer may be for a vehicle loan for purchasinga new automobile.

In another aspect, a computer system for providing insurance quotes,loan offers, and/or other services or products to existing insurancepolicyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. The computersystem may include one or more local or remote processors and/orassociated transceivers configured to: (1) determine or detect that themobile device is (i) within Bluetooth® range, Near Field Communication(NFC) broadcast range, or other wireless data transmission orcommunication technique communication range of a vehicle-mounted beaconor a vehicle controller; or (ii) within, or in the vicinity of, a newvehicle; (2) in response or otherwise, receive a broadcast from thevehicle-mounted beacon or vehicle controller via wireless communicationand/or data transmission, the broadcast containing (a) vehicleinformation associated with the new vehicle, (b) an insurance quote forinsurance covering the new vehicle, and/or (c) a vehicle loan offer forfinancing the new vehicle; (3) present (a) vehicle informationassociated with the new vehicle, (b) the insurance quote for insurancecovering the new vehicle, or (c) the vehicle loan offer for financingthe new vehicle on a display of the mobile device for review,acceptance, and/or modification by a pre-existing customer or insurancepolicyholder; and/or (4) transmit an acceptance or modification of theinsurance quote or vehicle loan offer from the mobile device to aninsurance provider or financial services provider remote server viawireless communication or data transmission to facilitate providingproducts or services associated with purchasing a vehicle to thepre-existing customer or insurance policyholder. The information may betransmitted to the mobile device of the customer only after the customersends an indication that they are in the market for a new or differentvehicle.

In another aspect, a computer system for providing insurance quotes,loan offers, and/or other services or products to existing insurancepolicyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. The computersystem may include one or more local or remote processors and/orassociated transceivers configured to: (1) receive a broadcast from avehicle-mounted beacon, a vehicle controller, and/or a remote server(such as an insurance provider remote server or a financial servicesprovider remote server) via wireless communication and/or datatransmission, the broadcast containing (a) vehicle informationassociated with the new vehicle, (b) an insurance quote for insurancecovering the new vehicle, and/or (c) a vehicle loan offer for financingthe new vehicle; (2) present (a) vehicle information associated with thenew vehicle, (b) the insurance quote for insurance covering the newvehicle, and/or (c) the vehicle loan offer for financing the new vehicleon a display of the mobile device for review, acceptance, and/ormodification by a pre-existing customer or insurance policyholder;and/or (3) transmit an acceptance or modification of the insurance quoteor vehicle loan offer from the mobile device (such as sending a datatransmission to an insurance or financial services provider remoteserver) via wireless communication and/or data transmission tofacilitate providing insurance for the new vehicle or a new loan forpurchasing the new vehicle to the pre-existing customer or insurancepolicyholder. The one or more processors (such as one or more processorsof a mobile device) are configured to determine or detect that themobile device is (i) within Bluetooth® range of a vehicle-mountedbeacon, a vehicle controller, a vehicle control system, or a vehicle;and/or (ii) within or in the vicinity of a new vehicle is achievedbefore the broadcast is transmitted (such as transmitted by avehicle-mounted beacon and/or vehicle controller). The one or moreprocessors (such as one or more processors of a mobile device) areconfigured to determine or detect that the mobile device is within NearField Communication (NFC) broadcast range, or other wireless datatransmission or communication technique communication range of avehicle-mounted beacon, a vehicle, a vehicle controller, or vehiclecontrol system.

In another aspect, a computer system for providing insurance quotes,loan offers, and/or other services or products to existing insurancepolicyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. The computersystem may include one or more local or remote processors and/orassociated transceivers configured to: (1) receive a broadcast from avehicle-mounted beacon and/or a vehicle controller via wirelesscommunication and/or data transmission, the broadcast containing vehicleinformation associated with a new vehicle; (2) transmit the vehicleinformation via wireless communication and/or data transmission, to aremote server (such as an insurance or financial services providerremote server); (3) receive one or more offers for products or servicesassociated with purchasing the new vehicle via wireless communicationand/or data transmission, such as (i) an insurance quote for insurancecovering the new vehicle, and/or (ii) a vehicle loan offer for financingthe new vehicle; (4) present the one or more offers for products orservices associated with purchasing the new vehicle (including theinsurance quote for insurance covering the new vehicle, and/or thevehicle loan offer for financing the new vehicle) on a display of themobile device for review, acceptance, and/or modification by apre-existing customer or insurance policyholder; and/or (5) transmit anacceptance or modification of the one or more offers for products orservices (including the insurance quote or vehicle loan offer) from themobile device (such as sending a data transmission to an insurance orfinancial services provider remote server) via wireless communicationand/or data transmission to facilitate providing insurance for the newvehicle or a new loan for purchasing the new vehicle to the pre-existingcustomer or insurance policyholder. The one or more processors and/orassociated transceivers may be further configured to: receive aconfirmation that a vehicle insurance application and/or vehicle loanapplication has been accepted and that the customer has acquired thedesired product (e.g., insurance for the new vehicle, financing for thenew vehicle, etc.); and/or present the confirmation on a display to thecustomer.

In another aspect, a computer system for providing insurance quotes,loan offers, and/or other services or products to existing insurancepolicyholders at vehicle dealerships may be provided. The computersystem may include one or more local or remote processors and/ortransceivers configured to: (1) detect a Bluetooth®, a NFC (Near FieldCommunication), or other wireless communication or data transmissionbroadcast from a vehicle-mounted beacon or a vehicle controller, thebroadcast including vehicle information associated with a new vehicle;(2) receive the broadcast from the vehicle-mounted beacon and/or avehicle controller via wireless communication and/or data transmission;(3) transmit the vehicle information, to a remote server (such as aninsurance or financial services provider remote server) via wirelesscommunication and/or data transmission; (4) receive one or more offersfor products or services associated with purchasing the new vehicle viawireless communication and/or data transmission, such as (i) aninsurance quote for insurance covering the new vehicle, and/or (ii) avehicle loan offer for financing the new vehicle; (5) present the one ormore offers for products or services associated with purchasing the newvehicle (including the insurance quote for insurance covering the newvehicle, and/or the vehicle loan offer for financing the new vehicle) ona display of the mobile device for review, acceptance, and/ormodification by a pre-existing customer or insurance policyholder;and/or (6) transmit an acceptance or modification of the one or moreoffers for products or services (including the insurance quote orvehicle loan offer) from the mobile device (such as sending a datatransmission to an insurance or financial services provider remoteserver) via wireless communication and/or data transmission tofacilitate providing insurance for the new vehicle or a new loan forpurchasing the new vehicle to the pre-existing customer or insurancepolicyholder, or completing another transaction for products orservices.

The broadcast may be initiated by the vehicle-mounted beacon or vehiclecontroller when is it determined or otherwise detected that the mobiledevice is within a broadcast range of the vehicle-mounted beacon orvehicle controller, such as within a Bluetooth® or NFC broadcast range.Additionally or alternatively, the broadcast may be initiated by thevehicle-mounted beacon or vehicle controller by a trigger event, thetrigger event being a door of the new vehicle being opened or shut (asdetermined by a door mounted sensor), someone sitting in the driver'sseat of the vehicle (as determined by seat pressure sensor), the engineof the new vehicle starting (as determine by engine rpm), and/or the newvehicle moving (as determined by an accelerometer or speed sensormounted on the vehicle-mounted beacon, vehicle, or mobile device).

In another aspect, a computer system for providing vehicle, vehicleloan, and/or auto insurance information to a customer via their mobiledevice may be provided. The computer system may include one or morelocal or remote processors and/or associated transceivers configured to:(1) receive (such as at a vehicle-mounted communication beacon or avehicle control system (of a vehicle) via wireless communication and/ordata transmission), an indication that a mobile device (of a potentialvehicle purchaser) is within NFC or Bluetooth® wireless communicationrange; and/or (2) transmit (such as from the vehicle-mountedcommunication beacon or vehicle control system), vehicle specificinformation (regarding the vehicle, such as pricing and featureinformation), vehicle loan information, and/or auto insurance (coveringthe vehicle) pricing or quote information at, or on, a NFC or Bluetooth®radio frequency or band to the mobile device to facilitate providing thepotential vehicle purchaser with such information, such as by displayingthe information received via wireless communication or data transmissionon a display of the potential vehicle purchaser's mobile device fortheir review and/or approval.

In yet another aspect, a computer system for providing vehicle, vehicleloan, and/or auto insurance information to a customer via their mobiledevice may be provided. The computer system may include one or morelocal or remote processors and/or associated transceivers configured to:(1) detect a customer bringing or positioning a mobile device within NFCor Bluetooth® communication range of a vehicle; (2) receive (such as viathe mobile device (and/or associated processors and mobile devicetransceiver)), vehicle information associated with the vehicle via a NFCor Bluetooth® data transmission or wireless communication, from avehicle-mounted communication beacon and/or vehicle computer system(such as a vehicle controller or vehicle controller system) configuredwith a transceiver; and/or (3) display (such as via the mobile device(such as on a mobile device display screen)), the vehicle informationreceived from the vehicle-mounted communication beacon and/or vehiclecomputer system via wireless communication or data transmission for thecustomer's review to facilitate enhancing the vehicle purchasingexperience and/or providing vehicle loans or insurance to the customer.The vehicle information associated with the vehicle may include vehiclefeature and/or pricing information; vehicle dealership offers onpricing, loans, or financing; vehicle loan information and/or quotes;and/or auto insurance information and/or quotes for the vehicle.

The foregoing computer systems may include additional, less, oralternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein. Theforegoing computer systems may include one or more processors,transceivers, memory units, displays, mobile devices, local or remoteservers, communication beacons, and/or other electronic componentry,including that discussed elsewhere herein.

Additional Considerations

In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or“embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to areincluded in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separatereferences to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” inthis description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and arealso not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. Forexample, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment mayalso be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included.Thus, the current technology can include a variety of combinationsand/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

Although the present application sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legalscope of the description is defined by the words of the claims set forthat the end of this patent and equivalents. The detailed description isto be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possibleembodiment since describing every possible embodiment would beimpractical. Numerous alternative embodiments may be implemented, usingeither current technology or technology developed after the filing dateof this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof routines, subroutines, applications, or instructions. These mayconstitute either software (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readablemedium or in a transmission signal) or hardware. In hardware, theroutines, etc., are tangible units capable of performing certainoperations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. Inexample embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone,client or server computer system) or one or more hardware modules of acomputer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may beconfigured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) ascomputer hardware that operates to perform certain operations asdescribed herein.

In various embodiments, computer hardware, such as a processing element,may be implemented as special purpose or as general purpose. Forexample, the processing element may comprise dedicated circuitry orlogic that is permanently configured, such as an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), or indefinitely configured, such as an FPGA,to perform certain operations. The processing element may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that istemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement the processingelement as special purpose, in dedicated and permanently configuredcircuitry, or as general purpose (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “processing element” or equivalents should beunderstood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that isphysically constructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), ortemporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manneror to perform certain operations described herein. Consideringembodiments in which the processing element is temporarily configured(e.g., programmed), each of the processing elements need not beconfigured or instantiated at any one instance in time. For example,where the processing element comprises a general-purpose processorconfigured using software, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respective different processing elements at differenttimes. Software may accordingly configure the processing element toconstitute a particular hardware configuration at one instance of timeand to constitute a different hardware configuration at a differentinstance of time.

Computer hardware components, such as communication elements, memoryelements, processing elements, and the like, may provide information to,and receive information from, other computer hardware components.Accordingly, the described computer hardware components may be regardedas being communicatively coupled. Where multiple of such computerhardware components exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the computer hardware components. In embodimentsin which multiple computer hardware components are configured orinstantiated at different times, communications between such computerhardware components may be achieved, for example, through the storageand retrieval of information in memory structures to which the multiplecomputer hardware components have access. For example, one computerhardware component may perform an operation and store the output of thatoperation in a memory device to which it is communicatively coupled. Afurther computer hardware component may then, at a later time, accessthe memory device to retrieve and process the stored output. Computerhardware components may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and may operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processing elements thatare temporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configuredto perform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processing elements may constitute processingelement-implemented modules that operate to perform one or moreoperations or functions. The modules referred to herein may, in someexample embodiments, comprise processing element-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processing element-implemented. For example, at least some ofthe operations of a method may be performed by one or more processingelements or processing element-implemented hardware modules. Theperformance of certain of the operations may be distributed among theone or more processing elements, not only residing within a singlemachine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some exampleembodiments, the processing elements may be located in a single location(e.g., within a home environment, an office environment or as a serverfarm), while in other embodiments the processing elements may bedistributed across a number of locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer with a processing element andother computer hardware components) that manipulates or transforms datarepresented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus.

Although the invention has been described with reference to theembodiments illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is notedthat equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.

Having thus described various embodiments of the invention, what isclaimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includesthe following:

I claim:
 1. A system for transmitting and receiving vehicle andinsurance information, the system comprising: a plurality ofcommunication beacons, each communication beacon associated with one ofa plurality of vehicles for sale, positioned in or on the associatedvehicle and transmitting information about the associated vehicleincluding a make and model via wireless communication and/or datatransmission; a mobile electronic device owned by a customer andincluding a communication element, a memory element, and a processingelement executing a software application configured to receive vehicleinformation about a vehicle not currently owned by the customer from oneof the communication beacons via wireless communication and/or datatransmission, transmit the vehicle information to a computer server viawireless communication and/or data transmission, receive terminformation regarding an auto insurance quote from the computer servervia wireless communication and/or data transmission, and display theterm information on a screen to a customer to facilitate providing autoinsurance to the customer; and the computer server, wherein the computerserver is configured to receive the vehicle information from the one ofthe communication beacons via the mobile electronic device, determinethe term information based upon the vehicle information with the autoinsurance quote including information for replacing a currently-ownedvehicle on a policy of the customer, and transmit the term informationto the mobile electronic device.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein thesoftware application is further configured to accept input from thecustomer to approve or modify the term information.
 3. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the software application is further configured totransmit the input from the customer to the computer server.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein vehicle information is transmitted from oneof the communication beacons after a triggering event is detected. 5.The system of claim 4, wherein the triggering event is detecting vehiclemovement or based upon vehicle speed.
 6. The system of claim 4, whereinthe triggering event is detecting that the mobile electronic devices iswithin Bluetooth or other broadcast range of the one of thecommunication beacons.
 7. The system of claim 4, wherein the triggeringevent is detecting vehicle door, or window operation, or anotheroperation of a vehicle component.
 8. A system for transmitting andreceiving vehicle and insurance information, the system comprising: aplurality of vehicle control systems or communication beacons, eachvehicle control system or communication beacon, respectively, associatedwith one of a plurality of vehicles for sale, positioned in or on theassociated vehicle and configured to transmit information about theassociated vehicle including a make and model after a trigger eventoccurs via wireless communication and/or data transmission; a mobileelectronic device owned by a customer and including a communicationelement, a memory element, and a processing element executing a softwareapplication configured to receive vehicle information about a vehiclenot currently owned by the customer from one of the vehicle controlsystems or communication beacons via wireless communication and/or datatransmission, transmit the vehicle information to a computer server viawireless communication and/or data transmission, receive terminformation regarding an auto insurance quote from the computer servervia wireless communication and/or data transmission, and display theterm information on a screen to a customer to facilitate providing autoinsurance to the customer; and the computer server, wherein the computerserver is configured to receive the vehicle information from one of thevehicle control systems or communication beacons via the mobileelectronic device, determine the term information based upon the vehicleinformation with the auto insurance quote including information forreplacing a currently-owned vehicle on a policy of the customer, andtransmit the term information to the mobile electronic device.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the software application is furtherconfigured to accept input from the customer to approve or modify theterm information.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the softwareapplication is further configured to transmit the input from thecustomer to the computer server.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein eachvehicle control system includes a sensor positioned in a seat of theassociated vehicle configured to determine when the customer is sittingon the seat.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein each vehicle controlsystem includes a sensor configured to detect vehicle door motion or thevehicle door being opened, closed, or otherwise operated.
 13. The systemof claim 8, wherein each vehicle control system includes a sensor todetect that the vehicle is being driven, such as a speed sensor.
 14. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein each vehicle control system or communicationbeacon, or the mobile electronic device, includes (1) an accelerometeror speed sensor configured to determine when the customer drives theassociated vehicle at a certain speed, or (2) a GPS (Global PositioningSystem) unit and GPS speed data is used to generate the trigger eventwhen GPS speed is above the certain speed.
 15. A computer-implementedmethod for transmitting and receiving vehicle and insurance information,the computer-implemented method comprising: transmitting informationabout a vehicle for sale including a make and model on a regular basisfrom a communication beacon via wireless communication and/or datatransmission to a mobile electronic device, the communication beaconassociated with a vehicle and positioned in or on the associatedvehicle; receiving vehicle information from the communication beacon andwith the mobile electronic device via wireless communication and/or datatransmission, the mobile electronic device owned by a customer;transmitting the vehicle information about the vehicle not currentlyowned by the customer from the mobile electronic device to a computerserver via wireless communication and/or data transmission; determining,with the computer server and from the communication beacon via themobile device, an insurance quote including information for replacing acurrently-owned vehicle on a policy of the customer; transmitting, withthe computer server and to the mobile device, the insurance quote;receiving, with the mobile electronic device from the computer servervia wireless communication and/or data transmission, the insurancequote; and displaying insurance quote on the mobile electronic device toa customer.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, furthercomprising accepting input from the customer to approve or modify theterm information.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16,further comprising transmitting the input from the customer to thecomputer server.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15,wherein the information about the vehicle is transmitted after a triggerevent is detected, the triggering event is detecting that the mobileelectronic devices is within Bluetooth or other broadcast range of thecommunication beacon.
 19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15,wherein the information about the vehicle is transmitted after a triggerevent is detected, the triggering event is detecting vehicle door, orvehicle window operation, or another operation of a vehicle component.20. The system of claim 1, wherein the software application is furtherconfigured to receive term information including auto insurance quoteinformation for adding the vehicle to the policy of the customer. 21.The system of claim 20, wherein the software application is furtherconfigured to display a first term information including a quote foradding the vehicle and a second term information including a quote forreplacing the currently-owned vehicle to allow the customer to comparethe first and second term information.
 22. The system of claim 8,wherein the software application is further configured to receive terminformation including auto insurance quote information for adding thevehicle to the policy of the customer.
 23. The system of claim 22,wherein the software application is further configured to display afirst term information including a quote for adding the vehicle and asecond term information including a quote for replacing thecurrently-owned vehicle to allow the customer to compare the first andsecond term information.
 24. The computer-implemented method of claim15, wherein the method further comprises receiving the insurance quoteincluding information for adding the vehicle to the policy of thecustomer.
 25. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein themethod further comprises displaying a first quote for adding the vehicleand a second quote for replacing the currently-owned vehicle to allowthe customer to compare the first and second quotes.
 26. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the processing element executing the softwareapplication is further configured to receive a universal resourcelocator, and communicate the universal resource locator to a web browserwhich displays a web page on the screen of the mobile electronic device,the web page pointed to by the universal resource locator and includinginformation about insurance rates.
 27. The system of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the communication beacons retains the vehicle informationin a memory element.
 28. The system of claim 8, wherein the processingelement executing the software application is further configured toreceive a universal resource locator, and communicate the universalresource locator to a web browser which displays a web page on thescreen of the mobile electronic device, the web page pointed to by theuniversal resource locator and including information about insurancerates.
 29. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the vehiclecontrol systems or the communication beacons retains the vehicleinformation in a memory element.
 30. The system of claim 15, thecomputer-implemented method further comprising: receiving a universalresource locator with the mobile electronic device, and utilizing a webbrowser which receives the universal resource locator and displays a webpage on the screen of the mobile electronic device, the web page pointedto by the universal resource locator and including information aboutinsurance rates.
 31. The system of claim 15, wherein the communicationbeacon retains the vehicle information in a memory element.